The All Progressives Congress (APC) has acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have weakened Nigerians’ purchasing power and increased the cost of living, while insisting that the country’s poverty crisis predates his administration.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said successive governments, particularly those led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 1999 and 2015, failed to address the deep-rooted economic problems now confronting the country.
Speaking on News Central Television’s Breakfast Central on Monday, Morka defended Tinubu’s claim at the APC’s 2027 campaign flag-off in Kaduna that opposition politicians created the hunger and poverty affecting Nigerians.
“Poverty has been with us. As a matter of fact, the foundations for the endemic poverty we’re dealing with today were laid in that era,” he said.
Morka argued that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who served under the PDP-led administration from 1999 to 2007, should explain why successive governments failed to eliminate poverty before criticising the current administration.
He said Tinubu was referring to the historical roots of poverty, rather than denying his government’s responsibility for the economic conditions Nigerians face.
The APC spokesman acknowledged that removing the petrol subsidy and harmonising the exchange rate affected household incomes, but maintained the policies were necessary to address longstanding economic distortions.
He argued that the impact of the reforms should be assessed alongside their potential to stabilise the economy, rather than solely by their immediate effects on living standards.
Morka also defended the government’s electricity-sector reforms, saying they had created opportunities for states and other stakeholders to develop power-generation capacity, although the benefits would take time to emerge.
He said the administration had introduced measures, including cash transfers to vulnerable households and initiatives to reduce transport costs and improve access to financing, to cushion the effects of its policies.
“We didn’t tell you we had a magic wand to correct Nigeria’s generational problems in one day or in two weeks or in one year,” he said.
The defence comes amid persistent concerns about the cost of living and the effects of the government’s reforms. World Bank estimates cited in the report put the proportion of Nigerians living below the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 a day at 69.6 per cent in 2025, while 50.8 per cent, or about 123 million people, were living in extreme poverty.
Morka disputed some public interpretations of poverty figures, arguing that currency depreciation and changes to the exchange-rate system should be considered when assessing incomes and living standards.
The APC spokesman also defended the provision of vehicles for the party’s 2027 election mobilisation following controversy over the presentation of seven new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs to selected youth leaders.
The party’s National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, had said the vehicles were intended to support campaign activities ahead of the general election.
Morka said campaign vehicles were logistical tools for electioneering rather than rewards for party loyalists.
“During the campaign, every campaign season, people brand vehicles to move because it’s an activity. It’s not as if they were given as a reward,” he said.
The controversy over the vehicles has drawn criticism amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians, as the APC prepares for Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
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