By Luminous Jannamike
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused President Bola Tinubu of using his 90-day cost-of-living relief plan to bait voters ahead of the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the programme’s deadline falls after Nigerians would have voted.
Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, said the timing of the plan raised questions about the administration’s commitment to easing hardship after three and a half years of rising living costs, insisting that Nigerians should judge the President by his record rather than another promise of relief.
Addressing a press conference at the ADC Secretariat on Friday, Shaibu said the government’s proposed intervention amounted to an election tactic, given that the presidential election was 86 days away while the relief plan would run for 90 days.
“The arithmetic is plain: the plan ends after Nigerians have voted. After three and a half years of hardship, this government is asking families to carry another promise into the polling booth and wait for relief until the votes are counted,” Shaibu added.
He said the plan’s five priorities; food affordability, tax harmonisation, completion of major projects, removal of investment bottlenecks and household support were problems Nigerians had expected the government to address long before the election approached.
Shaibu argued that the removal of petrol subsidy had driven up transport, food and production costs, while adequate protection for vulnerable households had not accompanied the policy.
“A government cannot put a 90-day deadline on hunger, the cost-of-living crisis and insecurity and call it an economic policy,” he said.
The ADC campaign council also questioned the effectiveness of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s petrol discount promotion, which began on October 1 and was presented as part of the government’s relief effort.
Shaibu said he visited NNPC Retail stations to assess the promotion and claimed that attendants told him no discount was available. He said he bought petrol at ₦1,405 per litre.
“With barely a week left before the offer expires, my experience as a customer was simple: a promise of relief, and a higher price at the pump,” he said.
He challenged NNPC to publish the number of customers who benefited, the stations where the discount was available and the volume of petrol sold at the reduced price.
With NNPC operating about 900 retail stations nationwide, Shaibu questioned the reach of a ₦66-per-litre discount in a country where motorists buy fuel from thousands of outlets, adding that the offer did little to address persistently high transport and food costs.
The opposition spokesman also raised concerns about a registration form circulating under the name “Arise for Tinubu 2027”, which he said requested voter identification, bank details and telephone numbers.
“Who is collecting this sensitive personal information, how will it be used, and is the exercise connected to the household support the government has announced?” he asked.
Shaibu demanded clarification on whether the registration exercise was linked to any publicly funded relief programme, warning that Nigerians should not have to surrender voter or bank details to a political group to access public assistance.
The ADC campaign council also questioned Tinubu’s record on security and his response to civilian casualties and disasters in Kaduna State, where the President is expected to launch his re-election campaign.
Shaibu recalled the December 3, 2023, military drone strike on civilians attending a Maulud celebration in Tudun Biri, in which at least 85 people were killed, and criticised Tinubu for not personally visiting the community after the tragedy.
He also cited reported civilian deaths in a September 2024 military airstrike in Giwa, abductions in Kajuru and a September 2025 kidnapping-related attack in Kachia, alongside storms and flooding that affected communities across Kaduna State.
“Tinubu can find his way to Kaduna for a wedding. He can find his way there for votes. Why was he absent when grieving families needed their President?” Shaibu asked.
He urged the President to explain what had been done for victims of the Tudun Biri strike, the outcome of investigations into civilian deaths and the measures being taken to protect communities still threatened by abductions.
Returning to the economic plan, Shaibu demanded specific details on how the government intended to reduce food prices, harmonise taxes, complete projects, ease constraints on businesses and deliver household support within 90 days.
He said the administration should publish the eligibility criteria, budget, payment arrangements and duration of the proposed household assistance, as well as identify the projects expected to be completed within the period.
The ADC campaign spokesman said Nigerians had endured the burden of the government’s economic reforms and deserved evidence that the promised benefits would reach them and remain in place beyond election day.
“People do not reject reform because they fail to understand it. They reject being told to sacrifice today for relief that never arrives, or arrives with an expiry date,” he said.
Shaibu said ADC presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar had pledged to make Nigeria affordable through disciplined public spending, targeted household relief, lower production and transportation costs, and policies to help manufacturers expand and create jobs.
He challenged Tinubu to explain whether Nigerians were better off than they were in May 2023 and whether the promised relief would remain meaningful after the 90-day period.
“Tinubu must answer two questions: Are Nigerians better off than they were in May 2023? And will they still be able to afford food on day 91 of his plan?” Shaibu asked.
He maintained that the proposed programme risked becoming a political timetable dressed up as economic relief, urging Nigerians not to exchange their experience of three and a half years of hardship for promises timed around the election.
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