The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that President Bola Tinubu has no justification for seeking a second term in office, insisting that the worsening hunger, poverty and economic hardship under his administration should instead compel him to resign.
In a scathing statement, the opposition party said millions of Nigerians are battling unprecedented hardship while the Federal Government continues to celebrate economic reforms that have failed to improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
According to the party, rather than preparing for the 2027 presidential election, President Tinubu should be reflecting on his stewardship and considering stepping down.
“Tinubu should be contemplating resigning from office rather than seeking re-election,” the ADC stated, adding that Nigeria desperately needs “a President and a government that truly understand how the people feel and genuinely care about them.”
The party accused the Federal Government of relying on palliative programmes instead of implementing policies capable of lifting Nigerians permanently out of poverty.
It argued that handouts cannot replace genuine economic reforms that create jobs, boost food production and restore the purchasing power of citizens.
“Poverty cannot be defeated through palliatives. It can only be defeated by building an economy that enables Nigerians to produce more food, earn decent incomes and live with dignity,” the party said.
Presenting what it described as its economic recovery agenda, the ADC pledged to secure farming communities and agricultural corridors from armed attacks so farmers can safely return to their farmlands.
The party also promised to rehabilitate Nigeria’s 264 abandoned dams to support irrigation farming, expand domestic food production, strengthen agricultural value chains, reduce post-harvest losses and make strategic investments in education, healthcare and skills development.
It further vowed to establish an integrated national food system that would coordinate production, storage, processing and transportation across the country, a move it said would reduce food prices, improve food security and generate employment.
The ADC maintained that the true measure of economic success is not government statistics but whether citizens can afford basic necessities, especially food.
“The choice before Nigeria is no longer between competing economic theories. It is between an economy that produces impressive government statistics and one that produces better lives for its people,” the statement said.
Describing hunger as the most honest indicator of economic performance, the party argued that no government can claim success while millions of citizens struggle daily to feed themselves.
“Hunger is the most honest measure of economic performance because it cannot be manipulated. Until fewer Nigerians go to bed hungry, until poverty begins to fall instead of rise, and until every Nigerian family can once again afford three decent meals a day, every claim of economic success will remain unrecognisable to the people whose lives those policies are supposed to improve,” it added.
The statement comes as public dissatisfaction continues to grow over the Tinubu administration’s economic policies, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market. While the government maintains that the reforms are necessary to stabilise the economy in the long term, many Nigerians continue to face soaring inflation, record food prices and an escalating cost-of-living crisis.