Former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has said President Bola Tinubu’s promise to Nigerians of revamping the nation’s economy is nothing but to further punish the poor. 

Mr Atiku stated this in a statement on Tuesday, as Mr Tinubu marks the first year of his government in office. 

The president assumed office on May 29, 2023, with a mantra of “Renewed Hope” agenda for the over 200 million Nigerians seeking improvement in the country’s economy.

In the statement, Mr Atiku said that Nigeria was not working with one year of Mr Tinubu, which he described as a cocktail of trial-and-error economic policies.

He noted that Mr Tinubu’s policies did not create prosperity but rather pauperise the poor and bankrupt the rich. 

Reviewing the one year of the Tinubu-led administration of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Mr Atiku said the government had not presented any plans for economic prosperity but instead making life more difficult for Nigerians. .  

“President Tinubu’s policies do not create prosperity. Instead, they pauperise the poor and bankrupt the rich. They spare no one. Nigerian citizens, the majority of whom are poor, are going through the worst cost-of-living crisis since the infamous structural adjustment programme of the 1980s. The annual inflation rate at 33.69% is the highest in nearly three decades. Food prices are unbearably higher than what ordinary citizens can afford as food inflation soared to 40.53% in April, the highest in more than 15 years.

“Nigerian citizens have to pay 114% more for a bag of rice, 107% more for a bag of flour, and 150% more in transport fares relative to May 2023. Today, in some locations, motorists are paying 305% more for a litre of fuel. Yet, on a minimum wage of the equivalent of US$23 per month, Nigerian workers are among the lowest wage earners in the world. 

“Tinubu had the ‘courage’ to remove subsidy on PMS and impose additional taxes on his people but lacks the compassion to raise the minimum wage or implement a social investment programme that would reduce the levels of vulnerability, and deprivation of workers and their families,” he said. 

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party also lamented that Mr Tinubu’s policies created a hostile environment for businesses both big and small.

He noted that the private sector was overwhelmed by the governing APC government’s dismal policies and overburdened by its failure to address the policy fallouts. 

According to Mr Atiku, the manufacturing sector, which holds the key to higher incomes, jobs, and economic growth, has been bogged down by rising input prices, higher energy and borrowing costs, and exchange rate complexities. 

“For example, since 2023, the average price of diesel has doubled to N1,600 per litre. Electricity tariff has recently been increased by 250% from N68/Kwh to N206/Kwh. As reported by The Guardian (13 May 2024), in Q1 of 2024, energy prices were up by 70%, costing manufacturers N290 billion.

“Since May 2023, corporate Nigeria has lost more than a dozen enterprises to other countries. Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Procter & Gamble (P&G), Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, Bolt Food, Equinor, among others had exited Nigeria citing reasons including foreign exchange complexities, security concerns, and high operational costs. According to the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, nearly 20,000 jobs may have been lost due to the departure of 15 multinational companies from Nigeria.”

He stressed that Mr Tinubu’s foreign exchange policies had not had any positive impact on Nigeria’s foreign trade balance, contrary to policy expectations. 

In particular, Mr Atiku added that the free float and the resulting naira devaluation had not resulted in an appreciable improvement in Nigeria’s trade balance.

He noted that the devaluation of the nation’s currency has not enhanced the competitiveness of local producers and had no positive impact on exports of goods, primary or manufactured. 

“In Q4 of 2023, for example, while imports surged 163.1%, exports rose at a slower 99.6%, indicating a huge foreign trade deficit.  Similarly, in Q1 of 2024, Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of $7.5 billion, with exports value of $12.7 billion and import value of US$14 billion. 

“Overall, the trade deficit as a percentage of GDP increased by 0.83% from 0.05% in May 2023 to 0.88% in May 2024,” the ex-vice president said.

Urging the president to act fast to save the country’s economy from collapsing, Mr Atiku advised Mr Tinubu to reflect on its economic reforms by taking an objective and strategic framework for the country. 

He also urged the president to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2024 budget within the new reform framework. 

Mr Atiku added, “The 2024 FGN budget, the exact size of which remains a mystery, is not designed to address the structural defects of the Nigerian economy or the cost-of-living crisis. It will neither create prosperity nor promote opportunities for our young people to lead a productive life. The review must prioritise fiscal measures to deal with an unprecedented rise in commodity prices. Higher commodity prices have created more misery for the poor in our towns and villages and have pushed millions of people below the poverty line. One of such measures for immediate implementation will be to ease the existing restrictions on selected food imports.’’