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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Presidency of substituting propaganda for performance in the management of the country’s economy, stating that “economic prosperity” exists only in State House press statements.
Atiku, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said that if the Presidency claims the economy is doing well, the onus is on it to explain why Nigerians are getting poorer under the President Bola Tinubu administration.
He stated that no government can credibly claim that its economic policies are succeeding while the productive engine of the economy is grinding to a halt, noting that available data indicate that several factories have shut down in recent times.
The former Vice President had, in a statement also issued by Shaibu on Sunday, accused the Federal Government of allegedly misleading Nigerians on the management of the savings accruing to the government from the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023.
However, the Presidency, in a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga titled “Facts, Not Fear: A Point-by-Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey,” said government reforms have yielded significant dividends, noting that the “opposition principal economic arguments remained anchored to development in the 2024 fiscal year.”
Nonetheless, Atiku, who is also the 2027 African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, said the “Presidency’s first line of defence—that the opposition is relying on 2024 figures—is not only intellectually dishonest but an admission that the administration wants Nigerians to develop selective amnesia.”
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According to him, it is even more ridiculous that an administration simultaneously implementing the 2024, 2025 and 2026 budgets is now asking Nigerians to forget the consequences of its economic decisions in earlier years.
“A government cannot claim its economic policies are working when the country’s industrial sector is actively shutting down. Nations do not build prosperity by celebrating macroeconomic statistics while their factories close their gates.”
“According to MAN, 767 manufacturing companies have shut down, while 335 others are classified as distressed under the weight of the current economic environment.
“Manufacturers are sitting on approximately ₦2.14 trillion worth of unsold finished goods, not because Nigerians do not need these products, but because millions of citizens have lost the purchasing power to buy even basic necessities.
“Global companies such as Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Kimberly-Clark have either shut down or exited local manufacturing operations, while indigenous companies, including Jubilee Syringe Manufacturing, have also been forced to suspend production.
“To make matters worse, local manufacturers spent about ₦1.11 trillion on diesel alone to keep their factories running after electricity tariffs for Band A customers increased dramatically, further worsening the cost of doing business,” he stated.
