• Atiku: Reforms have worsened cost-of-living crisis
• ADC candidate questions benefits of subsidy removal, naira reforms
• Makinde campaign demands measurable commitments on economy, security
• Lagos PDP asks Tinubu to translate growth into household gains
• Expert urges quarterly scorecard to measure security gains

Opposition voices yesterday challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Independence Day declaration that Nigeria has entered an “age of prosperity”, arguing that rising prices, insecurity and declining household purchasing power tell a different story.

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, accused the Tinubu administration of worsening the cost-of-living crisis and failing to deliver the benefits of its economic reforms.

Atiku, in a state-of-the-nation address to mark Nigeria’s 66th independence anniversary, said millions of Nigerians were struggling to afford necessities, including food, healthcare and transportation.

He blamed the administration for making life more difficult for families, alleging that many were skipping meals, delaying medical treatment and borrowing money to survive until payday.

The ADC candidate also faulted the President’s claims about economic growth, accusing the administration of placing greater emphasis on economic statistics than on the experiences of ordinary Nigerians.

Atiku said economic growth should translate into improved living conditions for citizens and criticised the removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that it had contributed to higher petrol and transport costs as well as increased food prices.

“Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy with one announcement and no credible protection in place for the families who would bear the shock. Petrol, transport and the cost of moving food rose. He promised that the savings would benefit Nigerians. Three years later, the pain has an address in every home. Bola, where is the benefit?” he said.

On insecurity, Atiku said armed groups had killed thousands of Nigerians and displaced communities, while farmers, schoolchildren and families remained vulnerable to attacks and kidnapping.

“A government that cannot make life affordable and cannot protect life has failed the two tests that matter most to its people,” he said.

Atiku also challenged Tinubu’s assertion that the country had entered a new phase of prosperity, arguing that lower inflation meant prices were rising more slowly rather than becoming affordable.

“Bola, where is this prosperity?” he asked, adding that economic growth and increased exports should improve the lives of Nigerians rather than serve as measures of government performance.

He further criticised the President’s description of Nigeria as a patient with cancer, questioning the impact of the administration’s economic policies after more than three years in office.

“You say Nigerians must endure the pain because you are curing the disease. But when a patient cries out, a doctor listens,” Atiku said.

He also asked Tinubu to acknowledge the role of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which had governed Nigeria for eight years before Tinubu assumed office in 2023, in the conditions he inherited.

Atiku illustrated the impact of rising prices by comparing wages and the cost of petrol, saying a N30,000 minimum wage could buy about 118 litres of petrol in April 2023, while the N70,000 minimum wage could buy about 50 litres at the time of his comparison.

He also cited increases in the prices of eggs and bread, saying an egg rose from about N88 in April 2023 to N261 in May 2026, while a sliced loaf that cost about N500 in April 2023 rose to about N2,000 for a smaller loaf by May 2026.

“These may look like small items in a government report. In a family home, they are breakfast. They are the money left for a child’s lunch,” he said.

Atiku said his administration would pursue measures aimed at making life more affordable, including a capped and budgeted production subsidy tied to verified petrol refined in Nigeria.

He said the proposed subsidy would cover fuel produced by modular refineries but exclude imported petrol, adding that the costs would be published and payments independently audited.

“The principle is simple: produce here, refine here, create jobs here and pay less here,” he said.

Atiku also promised free education from primary to secondary school, improved security and measures to reduce the cost of living.

He challenged Tinubu to account for his administration’s achievements after more than three years in office, saying Nigerians were entitled to ask what had been accomplished with the time already given to the government.

Makinde campaign says reforms worsened hardship
SIMILARLY, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation criticised the Independence Day address, describing it as lacking concrete measures to address Nigeria’s economic hardship, poverty and insecurity.

In a statement issued yesterday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation said the President’s address failed to contain specific, measurable and binding commitments that would enable Nigerians to hold the administration accountable.

“It is indeed disappointing that the President’s address failed to present specific, measurable and binding economy and security policy commitments for which Nigerians can hold him accountable. Instead, the speech remained vague and failed to provide concrete answers or direction on major national issues,” it said.

The organisation also challenged Tinubu’s assertion that his reforms had not weakened the economy, arguing that the removal of petrol subsidy and floating of the naira had increased the cost of living and reduced citizens’ purchasing power.

It said higher petrol prices, foreign exchange pressures, transportation costs and rising prices of food, healthcare and other essential goods had placed considerable pressure on households and businesses.

The campaign further alleged that the reforms had contributed to business closures and the exit of some multinational companies from Nigeria.

It also faulted the administration over what it described as inadequate attention to infrastructure, agriculture, industrialisation and local manufacturing, while questioning the government’s continued reliance on foreign borrowing.

On insecurity, the organisation said the President’s address failed to sufficiently reassure communities affected by killings, abductions and other violent crimes.

The campaign subsequently called on Nigerians to support the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Seyi Makinde, whom it said had demonstrated the capacity and commitment to “Reset Nigeria” and guarantee the security and welfare of citizens.

It urged Nigerians not to despair but to use their votes to seek a change of government at the 2027 general election.

Lagos PDP demands tangible gains for Nigerians
ALSO, the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the speech as a lengthy presentation of economic promises that failed to adequately confront the immediate realities facing millions of Nigerians.

The party said that while the President spoke extensively about reforms, economic growth and the prospect of future prosperity, Nigerians were still grappling with the high cost of living, insecurity, unemployment and declining household purchasing power.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Lagos State PDP Publicity Secretary, Christopher Odianarewo, yesterday.

The party said the central question remained: when ordinary Nigerians would begin to feel the promised improvement in their pockets, households and communities.

“The President himself acknowledged in his address that millions of Nigerians are still struggling to afford food, school fees, medical bills and transportation,” the statement said.

According to the PDP, the admission was significant because it exposed the distance between the government’s macroeconomic claims and the everyday experiences of citizens.

The party cited the World Bank’s assessment that although Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, the growth remained insufficient to generate enough productive jobs or materially reduce poverty.

It said the World Bank estimated that 69.6 per cent of Nigerians were living below the $4.20-a-day lower-middle-income poverty line in 2025, while 50.8 per cent were living in extreme poverty.

The PDP said this was the context in which Nigerians should evaluate the administration’s claim that the country had moved from the “age of reform” into an “age of prosperity.”

“Prosperity cannot remain a speech. It must become measurable improvement in the lives of citizens,” it said.

The party said the President spoke about lowering the cost of living through agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, industrialisation and energy, but argued that Nigerians deserved clearer answers on how the policies would be implemented.

It asked the government to provide specific timelines and measurable targets, including the number of jobs expected to be created and when they would be created.

The PDP also demanded to know by how much food and transportation costs were expected to fall and what mechanisms would ensure that the benefits of the government’s policies reached ordinary households rather than remaining concentrated in official statistics.

The party also faulted the President’s reference to the economic inheritance of previous administrations, particularly his description of Nigeria before 2023 through the metaphor of a patient receiving “morphine.”

According to the PDP, after more than three years in office, the administration must accept full responsibility for the outcomes of its own policies rather than continually explaining present hardship through the failures of the past.

It said Nigerians were entitled to judge every administration by what it inherited, what it promised, what it implemented and what citizens could actually see and feel.

On security, the Lagos PDP described the President’s address as particularly inadequate.

The party said although Tinubu acknowledged insecurity and expressed appreciation to the armed forces and security services, Nigerians needed more than recognition of the problem.

It demanded a clear account of how the government intended to decisively tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and other threats to lives and livelihoods.

“A country cannot claim broad-based prosperity while farmers remain afraid to access their farms, businesses remain vulnerable to insecurity and families continue to live with fear,” the party said.

The PDP also referred to the deadly unrest that followed the deaths of detainees in Niger State in September 2026, which prompted investigations and the suspension of senior officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

It said the development demonstrated why accountability and effective security institutions remained essential.

According to the party, the President’s promise of a prosperous Nigeria required more than economic statistics.

It said prosperity must include safe communities, productive citizens, affordable food, reliable infrastructure, decent employment and institutions that Nigerians could trust.

The PDP also questioned the President’s assertion that Nigeria had “corrected its course” and that the country’s “foundations are strong,” saying such claims must ultimately be tested against measurable outcomes.

It noted that even the World Bank, while acknowledging improved macroeconomic stability, had cautioned that household incomes had not fully recovered and poverty remained high.

“For the Lagos PDP, therefore, the issue is not whether Nigeria should reform. The issue is whether reforms are delivering inclusive and sustainable prosperity to the Nigerian people,” the party said.

It argued that Nigerians did not need another four years defined primarily by promises of what would eventually happen, but deserved a government capable of demonstrating, with transparent evidence, how its policies were improving their quality of life.

The party said the approach to the 2027 general elections would provide Nigerians with the constitutional opportunity to assess the record of the administration, compare competing programmes and determine, through their votes, the direction they wanted the country to take.

“The Nigerian people, not political rhetoric, must have the final word,” the PDP said.

Expert urges Tinubu to publish security performance scorecard
MEANWHILE, a security expert, Dr Kabir Adamu, has called on the Federal Government to publish a quarterly and yearly National Security Performance Scorecard to demonstrate the impact of increased spending and other interventions on Nigeria’s security.

Adamu, Managing Director of Beacon Security and Innovations Limited, made the call in an opinion piece following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s October 1 Independence Day address, in which the President placed economic prosperity at the centre of his administration’s agenda.

He said the key question for the country was not how much the government spent on security or the number of personnel recruited, but whether such investments were producing measurable improvements in public safety.

According to him, the security dividend should be reflected in safer communities, reduced kidnapping and terrorism, improved protection of schools and critical infrastructure, safer agricultural areas, better intelligence outcomes and faster responses to emerging threats.

Adamu said Tinubu’s emphasis on farmers was particularly important because food security and agricultural productivity could not expand sustainably where farmers were unable to access their land safely.

He said roads, markets, transport corridors and rural communities also required a secure environment that would allow economic activities to take place predictably.

“Security and prosperity are therefore mutually reinforcing,” he said.

Adamu noted that the administration had increasingly recognised the link between economic development and security, citing comments by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in June 2026 that shared and inclusive economic growth was part of the enduring solution to Nigeria’s security challenges.

He, however, said the relationship also worked in the opposite direction, as persistent unemployment, weak local governance, poverty, illicit economies, unresolved communal grievances and ineffective justice systems could continue to generate insecurity.

He therefore cautioned against treating economic development as a substitute for security reform.

The security expert said the November 2025 emergency declaration, substantial security allocations in the December 2025 Budget and the operational progress reported in the June 2026 address had raised expectations among Nigerians.

He said that, with the 2027 elections approaching, citizens were increasingly seeking evidence of the impact of those interventions.

Adamu listed several questions he said the government should answer, including whether kidnapping had declined nationally and along major affected corridors, whether terrorist groups were losing territorial and operational capacity and whether intelligence-sharing among security agencies had improved.

He also asked whether the new security architecture had reduced institutional duplication, whether farmers were returning to previously inaccessible agricultural areas and whether schools and critical infrastructure were becoming safer.

Other issues, he said, included whether police recruitment had translated into effective community policing, whether security agencies were converting intelligence into preventive action and whether increased security expenditure was producing proportionate improvements in public safety.

To address these concerns, Adamu proposed a transparent framework for measuring security performance across terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, communal violence, critical infrastructure protection, response times, intelligence outcomes and public confidence.

He said the proposed National Security Performance Scorecard should be complemented by economic indicators, including agricultural output, market access, transport activity, investment and employment in previously insecure areas.

Adamu also called for greater emphasis on intelligence fusion, early warning, analysis, faster response capabilities and disruption of threats before attacks occur.

He said federal, state and local authorities should have clearly defined responsibilities, coordination mechanisms and outcome indicators, arguing that accountability for results was meaningful only when responsibilities were identifiable.

He further advocated greater investment in non-kinetic security measures, including functional justice systems, conflict prevention, effective local governance, community engagement, economic opportunities and protection for vulnerable populations.

While acknowledging the importance of military capability, Adamu said sustainable security required a joint effort by federal and subnational governments.

He said Tinubu’s October 1 address had placed prosperity at the centre of the national agenda, adding that the government would need to demonstrate the security outcomes required to make that prosperity credible.