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Tinubu’s Economic Gains Exist Only on Paper, Says SDP’s Adebayo
Prince Adewole Adebayo, the presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2027 general election, has dismissed claims of economic progress under President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the administration’s celebrated macroeconomic gains have failed to translate into improved living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.
Speaking during a television interview to mark the third anniversary of the Tinubu administration, he argued that the government’s economic performance should be judged by the realities facing citizens rather than official statistics.
According to him, only those in government could claim to be better off today, while the majority of Nigerians continue to struggle with rising living costs, declining purchasing power, unemployment and worsening poverty.
“No one’s life is better off except those who are in government,” Adebayo said. “When all economic policies crystallise, they are reflected in what people pay for food, rent, transportation, healthcare and education. In all of these objective indicators, no one’s life is better off than before.”
He faulted attempts by government officials to present positive economic indicators as evidence of success, arguing that an economy that is genuinely improving would not require extensive official explanations to convince citizens.
“The economy belongs to all of us. If it is working, everybody will know it is working. Farmers, industrialists, traders, workers and consumers will feel it,” he said.
He also wondered why the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has governed Nigeria since 2015, continues to attribute current economic challenges to inherited problems.
He maintained that the economic conditions inherited by Tinubu in 2023 were themselves products of eight years of APC governance, making it difficult for the party to shift responsibility elsewhere.
“The same political party and largely the same political actors produced the situation they now describe as terrible. Nigerians voted for them twice and those conditions emerged under their watch,” he said.
The Ondo prince further accused the administration of creating what he described as an “illusion of progress” through currency devaluation and heavy borrowing.
According to him, increases in government revenue and foreign reserves, often cited by officials, do not reflect genuine economic growth but are largely the consequences of naira depreciation and debt accumulation.
“What they suffer from is what economists call the illusion of money. The devaluation of the naira creates the appearance that more money is coming in, but the reality is that the money has lost purchasing power,” he stated.
He argued that the government’s macroeconomic indicators are “faulty and incorrect” because they do not correspond with the realities experienced by households and businesses.
He noted that the widening gap between official economic statistics and citizens’ living standards demonstrates that the government’s policies are not producing meaningful results.
He cited rising unemployment, increasing poverty levels and declining purchasing power despite official reports of GDP growth and moderating inflation.
“The average Nigerian wants to know whether he can buy food tomorrow. That is the true test of economic policy,” he said.
He also blamed the administration’s foreign exchange policies for worsening the financial position of state governments and businesses, arguing that projects awarded before the naira devaluation had become significantly more expensive to execute.
He noted that most state governors belong to the APC and are implementing policies aligned with those of the Federal Government, making it difficult to separate state-level outcomes from federal economic decisions.
He further criticised the government’s borrowing strategy, claiming that much of the growth recorded in Nigeria’s foreign reserves is linked to loans rather than productive economic expansion.
“They have engaged in heavy borrowing since coming into office, and a significant portion of the reserves being celebrated is already spoken for,” he said.
He also questioned the credibility of official inflation figures, arguing that they failed to capture the realities of fuel prices, transportation costs and the broader cost-of-living pressures confronting Nigerians.
He maintained that until economic policies result in tangible improvements in the daily lives of citizens, claims of success by the administration would remain disconnected from reality.
“The president and the country are better served by an honest assessment of the economy than by defensive arguments that do not reflect what Nigerians are experiencing,” he submitted.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
