By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against pushing Nigerians “dangerously close to the limits of human endurance” through what it described as harsh economic policies.
The party, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the reported rise in petrol prices to as high as N1,470 per litre had further worsened the economic hardship confronting households and businesses across the country.
According to the ADC, the increase in fuel prices has triggered a corresponding rise in the cost of transportation, food, electricity, education and other basic necessities.
“President Tinubu has turned the petrol pump into an instrument of punishment for everyday Nigerians. Food, transportation, electricity, education, and everything Nigerians need to survive responds directly to the price of fuel and combine together to make life difficult for the majority of Nigerians,” the party said.
The opposition party also expressed concern over reports that some private schools had increased tuition fees by between 30 and 40 per cent, arguing that household incomes had not risen by anything close to the same margin.
“Parents are not earning 40 per cent more. Their salaries have not risen with the prices of fuel, food, rent, transportation, and school fees. Yet, at every turn, this government demands that already exhausted families pay more,” the ADC said.
The party, however, said it did not blame school proprietors for the fee increases, noting that they were equally struggling with rising taxes, electricity bills, fuel costs, rents and salaries.
It said parents, workers and businesses were all “casualties of Tinubu and the APC’s economy.”
The ADC described petrol at N1,470 per litre as more than a commodity, calling it a “Tinubu Tax” that had made life increasingly unbearable for Nigerians.
“At N1,470 per litre, petrol is no longer simply a commodity. It is Tinubu Tax, which has made life unbearable for the majority.
“Under Tinubu and the APC, Nigerians have been tightening their belts. Now, there are no more holes left, and people have started to choke. Families are now skipping meals, withdrawing children from school, abandoning medical treatment and shutting down businesses,” the party alleged.
The ADC further criticised the government over what it described as continued demands for sacrifice from ordinary Nigerians while public officials allegedly maintain extravagant lifestyles.
The party argued that economic reforms should improve the welfare of citizens rather than deepen their hardship.
“A reform that continuously makes the people poorer is not working. An economic policy that produces impressive figures at government briefings but hunger in Nigerian homes is a failure,” it said.
“When parents must choose between feeding their children and educating them, the government has failed spectacularly in its most basic responsibility.”
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, the ADC said Nigerians would have the opportunity to choose between continuing with what it called President Tinubu’s “punishment” and embracing the relief programme proposed by its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The party restated Atiku’s commitment to reducing petrol prices through the reintroduction of subsidy mechanisms to support domestic fuel production, which it said would help bring down the cost of food, transportation and production.
“Unlike Tinubu and APC, we recognise that economic reform must serve the people, not sacrifice them,” the party said.
“Nigeria cannot be an oil-producing country whose citizens experience every visit to a filling station as punishment.”
The ADC urged the Tinubu administration not to mistake Nigerians’ resilience and patience for acceptance of the current economic situation.
“Their resilience must not become an excuse for continued cruelty. Tinubu has had enough time and inflicted enough pain. The people are suffering, businesses are dying, and hope is becoming increasingly expensive.
“President Tinubu must act now. Don’t push Nigerians to their limits,” the party warned.
