The African Action Congress (AAC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the administration’s celebration of its reforms is contradicted by the hardship being experienced by millions of Nigerians.
The party made the position known in a statement signed by its National Chairman, Samuel Ajeigbe, on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in response to Tinubu’s Independence Day address to Nigerians as the country marked its 66th anniversary.
Tinubu, in his national broadcast, defended the economic reforms introduced by his administration and warned against calls to return to the petrol subsidy regime, describing such demands as a “siren song.”
Reacting, the AAC said the central issue was not whether Nigeria should return to the former subsidy regime but why Nigerians should continue bearing what it described as an unbearable cost for an economic policy that had not translated into affordable living conditions.
The party argued that the removal of petrol subsidy had dramatically increased transportation costs and contributed to higher expenses associated with food production, goods and services.
According to the AAC, Nigerians do not experience economic growth through government statistics but through their ability to afford food, transportation, electricity, rent, school fees and healthcare.
The party questioned the significance of the economic growth, improved foreign reserves and rising investment highlighted by Tinubu when millions of Nigerians were still struggling to afford three decent meals a day.
The AAC also referred to the National Bureau of Statistics’ Multidimensional Poverty Index, which found that 62.9 per cent of Nigerians, representing about 133 million people, were multidimensionally poor.
However, the party acknowledged that the survey predates the Tinubu administration and therefore should not be presented as a 2026 poverty figure, saying the data nevertheless demonstrated the scale of the poverty crisis inherited by the government.
The party said that three years into the Tinubu administration, Nigerians were still being asked to endure economic hardship while the promised prosperity remained largely theoretical.
On insecurity, the AAC said the government’s claims of progress should be measured against the continued loss of lives and displacement of communities across the country.
It argued that no economic reform could be considered successful if citizens remained unable to safely farm, travel, conduct businesses and live in their communities.
The party accused the government of continually asking Nigerians for patience while presenting the hardship caused by its policies as evidence that the reforms were working.
The AAC said Nigeria should not be forced to choose between what it described as wasteful subsidy policies and unbearable living costs, arguing that there was an alternative economic path based on production, job creation, affordable energy, stronger local industries and increased purchasing power for citizens.
The party said it had consistently advocated such an alternative, insisting that government should reduce the burden on Nigerians rather than continually explain why citizens should endure economic hardship.
“Nigeria’s resources are sufficient to provide affordable energy, strengthen domestic production, expand employment, improve public healthcare and education, and protect citizens from the crushing cost of basic necessities,” the AAC said.
It, however, argued that what was missing was a political direction capable of placing those priorities above the interests of political elites and entrenched economic beneficiaries.
The AAC also responded to Tinubu’s declaration that Nigeria had reached a turning point, saying it agreed that the country needed a turning point but not another speech defending hardship.
As Nigerians marked 66 years of independence, the party called for what it described as a national political realignment around policies capable of reducing the cost of living and restoring dignity to ordinary citizens.
The AAC further pointed to the 2027 general elections, saying Nigerians would have an opportunity to examine the competing political programmes before them, including the economic programme of the party and its presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore.
The party said the central issue before Nigerians should be the kind of economy and society Nigerians want, contrasting an economy that requires citizens to continually sacrifice for government policies with one that places welfare, productivity and dignity at the centre of national development.