Femi Aborisade, founding National Secretary of the National Conscience Party (NCP), has said the federal government has failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians, describing the situation as one of worsening poverty and inadequate public welfare.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on Friday, Aborisade said the government’s constitutional responsibility to provide security and welfare for citizens is not being fulfilled. “The constitution provides that the primary essence of governance is the welfare and security of the people. We neither have security nor is the welfare of the people being attended to,” he said.

Aborisade highlighted the growing economic hardships faced by ordinary Nigerians, contrasting them with the wealth of political leaders. “Rather, we are confronted with unprecedented poverty, pervasive poverty, agony, pains, and pangs while the rulers swim in opulence, the masses wallow in abject poverty,” he said.

He specifically criticized government policies such as the removal of fuel subsidies, saying they benefit the wealthy and deepen inequality.

“Things are not working, the country is not working in the interest of the masses, the country is working only in the interest of the rulers. They have, for example, withdrawn fuel subsidy only for the governors to be richer; they have taken from the masses and given to the wealthy. It is as if Nigeria is now made not for the masses but for the rulers,” Aborisade stated.

The NCP official also addressed issues surrounding the national minimum wage, noting that while the federal government set a ₦70,000 minimum wage, implementation has been inconsistent across the states.

“Our legislatures are among the top income earners in the entire world, yet they are proud to say they have a law legalising ₦70,000 per-month minimum wage, yet not less than 11 states are not paying the minimum wage. The minimum wage, of course, is a poverty wage that can hardly sustain a family,” he said.

Aborisade’s comments reflect growing criticism from opposition voices over perceived government neglect of social welfare programs and the widening gap between the ruling class and ordinary Nigerians.