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African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to ease the cost of living if elected president in 2027, saying many Nigerians are still struggling despite President Bola Tinubu’s claim that the country has entered an age of prosperity.
Atiku made the promise in his State of the Nation address on Thursday to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence anniversary, arguing that economic progress means little to families who can no longer afford basic necessities.
He said a slowdown in inflation would not automatically restore the purchasing power Nigerians had lost as the prices of essential goods and services continued to rise.
To illustrate the pressure on workers, the former vice-president compared the purchasing power of the minimum wage before and after recent economic changes.
According to him, the current N70,000 minimum wage buys about 50 litres of petrol, compared with 118 litres that the former N30,000 wage could purchase in April 2023.
He also pointed to higher prices of bread and eggs, saying the cost of everyday essentials remained a major burden for households.
As part of his plan to bring down fuel prices, Atiku proposed a government subsidy restricted to petrol refined in Nigeria, with imported fuel excluded from the arrangement.
He described the proposal as a “capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria only”.
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Atiku said the scheme would have a spending limit, with its costs made public and payments independently audited. He argued that the arrangement could help lower pump prices, support local refineries and create jobs.
The ADC candidate also questioned the government’s reported cash transfers to vulnerable Nigerians, demanding an explanation of how 10 million beneficiaries were identified and paid N75,000 each.
“If you could find 10 million people to pay, you can account for the payments,” he said.
He called for the publication of government loan and contract records, while raising concerns about overlapping budgets and unpaid contractors.
Atiku said government performance should be judged by whether Nigerians could afford their daily needs and live safely, rather than by official claims of economic progress.
On the 2027 elections, he pledged to respect the independence of electoral institutions and support the prompt publication of results from individual polling units.
He also promised legal consequences for vote-buying and the manipulation of election results.
“Your vote must count as you cast it,” he said.
