Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has challenged President Bola Tinubu’s claim that Nigeria has entered an “age of prosperity”, arguing that the economic reforms have instead left millions of Nigerians struggling with the rising cost of living.
Atiku made the criticism in his Independence Day address on Thursday, hours after Tinubu used his national broadcast to defend his administration’s economic policies and declare that the country had moved from an “age of reform” into an “age of prosperity”.
Tinubu said his government inherited an economy in crisis in 2023 and had taken difficult decisions, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange reforms, to correct longstanding distortions.
He likened Nigeria at the time to a cancer patient who needed painful treatment, saying the reforms were necessary to prevent the country’s problems from worsening.
“Three and a half years later, the evidence that Nigeria’s economic outlook has improved is undeniable,” Tinubu said.
“Our economy has grown by over 4 per cent this year. Both oil and non-oil sectors have contributed to the renewed period of stable growth.”
He also cited lower oil theft, falling inflation, rebuilt foreign reserves, a more stable foreign exchange market and more than $6bn in non-oil export revenue in 2025.
Tinubu said the government’s focus had now shifted from economic correction to improving living standards.
“The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired. The central economic task before us has changed. For three years, our overriding purpose was to correct our nation’s course.
“Now, our purpose is simple: shared and widespread prosperity.”
But Atiku rejected the President’s assessment, arguing that economic growth and government revenue figures had not translated into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.
“Bola, where is this prosperity?” Atiku asked.
He said Tinubu could not declare the beginning of a new era while Nigerians continued to struggle with food, transport, healthcare, education and insecurity.
“A President may announce a new chapter in a speech. He cannot announce food onto a family’s table or money into a worker’s pocket,” Atiku said.
“Bola says inflation has fallen. A slower rise in prices does not restore what families have lost. He cites growth and rising exports. Nigerian businesses deserve credit for what they have achieved. But growth must improve lives.”
Atiku also challenged Tinubu’s description of Nigeria as a cancer patient, questioning why the cost of basic necessities remained high after more than three years of the administration’s reforms.
“You say Nigerians must endure the pain because you are curing the disease. But when a patient cries out, a doctor listens,” he said.
“He does not call the patient ‘regressive’ for asking when he will get better. He does not point to the hospital’s rising revenue and declare him healed. A patient who cannot afford to live is not proof that the treatment is working.”
He also questioned the role of the All Progressives Congress in the economic problems Tinubu said he inherited.
“And you cannot speak as though you arrived from the moon in 2023. Your party had governed Nigeria for eight years. If the country was as sick as you say, tell Nigerians what responsibility your party bears for its condition,” Atiku said.
The former vice president compared the purchasing power of the minimum wage under the two administrations, saying a N30,000 minimum wage could buy about 118 litres of petrol in April 2023, while the N70,000 minimum wage could buy only about 50 litres at the prices he cited.
He also cited increases in the prices of eggs and bread, saying the average price of an egg rose from about N88 in April 2023 to N261 in May 2026, while a sliced loaf increased from about N500 to about N2,000 over the same period.
“If 2023 was the illness, why does your ‘cure’ buy less fuel, fewer eggs and a smaller loaf of bread?” he asked.
Atiku said his proposed alternative would include a capped and budgeted production subsidy for verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries, while imported petrol would not qualify.
“The principle is simple: produce here, refine here, create jobs here and pay less here,” he said.
“If Bola disagrees, he should answer the proposal on its merits. Calling relief an addiction will not lower the price of petrol.”
He also criticised the government’s plans for agriculture, manufacturing, jobs and youth empowerment, arguing that Nigerians needed immediate relief rather than promises of future gains.
“Bola, your speech is full of ‘we will.’ We will make farming cheaper. We will power factories. We will create jobs. We will bring down prices. You have been President for more than three years. Nigerians are entitled to ask what you have done with the time already given to you,” Atiku said.
Tinubu, in his address, said his administration was working to lower production and distribution costs through mechanised farming, irrigation, improved access to seeds and fertiliser, storage, transportation and infrastructure.
“When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market,” the President said.
On jobs, Tinubu said the government would use gas to power industries, support the revival of factories, expand digital connectivity and invest in skills, infrastructure and financing for Nigerian businesses.
“I want to see more Nigerians making things. I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories. I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world. I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home,” he said.
Atiku, however, said young Nigerians needed jobs that could provide enough income to survive.
“Ambition is abundant in Nigeria. What is scarce is the chance to turn it into a living,” he said.
He also questioned the government’s student loan and consumer credit initiatives, arguing that access to loans did not automatically make education or living costs affordable.
“A student loan does not make education affordable when fees are rising,” Atiku said, alleging that some institutions had increased fees by more than 400 per cent.
“Consumer credit does not make a worker prosperous if repayment takes another bite out of a wage already too small to live on.”
Tinubu defended the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and CREDICORP, saying they were designed to provide a bridge for low-income families and working Nigerians while the government pursued broader economic growth.
The President said the government was also strengthening the National Social Register, primary healthcare, basic education and other services for vulnerable Nigerians.
Atiku also attacked the government over its budgets, public spending and borrowing.
He questioned the decision to extend the 2025 budget until the end of 2026 while the 2026 budget remained in operation and preparations were being made for the 2027 budget.
“A budget should be a timetable for delivery, not a ball passed from one year to the next,” he said.
He put Nigeria’s public debt at N166.79tn as of June and questioned the government’s plan to seek another $1.5bn World Bank loan.
“Before you borrow another dollar in the people’s name, tell them what the money already borrowed has delivered. Name the projects. Show what they cost, who benefited and who was paid,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate also questioned the award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract to Hitech, a Chagoury Group company, alleging that it was awarded without an open public tender.
He called on the government to publish the invitations, bids, evaluations, final contract and variations relating to the project.
Atiku further criticised the government over unpaid debts to local contractors, saying some had borrowed money to execute public projects and were facing financial difficulties because of delayed payments.
“Why do your friends get huge contracts while Nigerian contractors have to protest to be paid for work they have already done? Pay the contractors. Publish what is owed and when it will be paid,” he said.
He also demanded an account of the government’s reported cash transfers to 10 million Nigerians, referring to claims by the APC chairman that more than N750bn had been distributed.
Atiku questioned how beneficiaries, particularly those in insecure parts of Yobe and Borno, were identified and paid.
“If you could find ten million people to pay, you can account for the payments,” he said.
He also referred to the deaths of three people in a stampede at the Niger State Government House amid reports that N10,000 would be distributed, saying the incident illustrated the hardship facing Nigerians.
Atiku questioned Tinubu’s claim that lower transport fares would begin on October 1, saying commuters should be told which routes became cheaper, the previous fares, the new fares and the number of beneficiaries.
“Nigerians cannot board an announcement,” he said.
The former vice president also challenged the President’s assertion that salaries and pensions had been paid “on time and in full”, citing protests by military pensioners and reports of delayed salaries, wage awards and promotion arrears.
“Pay the outstanding entitlements, publish what remains unpaid, and stop claiming that everyone has been paid in full,” he said.
Atiku also raised concerns over political freedoms, calling for due process in cases involving Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria, Nasir El-Rufai and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
He renewed his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts, while saying allegations against them should be fairly tested.
On the 2027 election, Atiku promised to protect the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission and support the prompt publication of polling-unit results if elected.
“I will work to end election rigging. I will respect INEC’s independence, support the prompt publication of results from every polling unit, and insist that anyone caught buying votes or changing results faces the law – even if that person belongs to my party,” he said.
Tinubu, meanwhile, urged Nigerians to look ahead, saying the country had “passed through our own Red Sea” and should not return to the past.
“Our destination is in sight. Our foundations are strong. Our direction is clear. So let us go forward. No looking back,” he said.
Atiku disagreed, saying Nigerians had a right to examine the government’s record before deciding the country’s next political direction.
“Looking back at a government’s record is a citizen’s right. It is how we decide whether those who hold power deserve more time,” he said.
He concluded by saying Nigerians had the right to demand measurable plans from all candidates ahead of the 2027 election.
“Listen closely. Question every candidate, including me. Demand plans that can be examined and promises that can be measured. Protect your vote and refuse intimidation,” Atiku said.
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