APC defends Tinubu’s reforms as ADC faults rising cost of living

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, arguing that they have laid the foundation for economic recovery, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted the administration over the rising cost of living and worsening economic hardship facing Nigerians.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr Felix Morka, and the Director of Media and Publicity of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, stated their positions separately on Channels Television’s Politics Today while discussing the economy, political campaigns and the prospects of the 2027 general elections.

Morka said the APC was taking the forthcoming election seriously despite its confidence in the party’s political structures and electoral performance since the 2023 general elections.

He said the party was committed to mobilising voters and would not take the election for granted, dismissing suggestions that its extensive preparations and campaign activities amounted to desperation.

“If we thought this was all set and done, we would not put in this level of energy and work in an effort to get to the last vote within the electorate,” he said.

According to him, the APC’s victories in several elections since 2023 reflected its commitment to preparation, effective political organisation and mobilisation.

“We prepare, we do our homework, we put together our systems and we trigger massive campaigns, which is what we are about to see. I don’t think it is a sign of desperation to prepare,” Morka said.

He maintained that Nigerians supported the APC because of what the party represented and its capacity to govern, arguing that its control of the federal government and several states reflected previous electoral choices.

On the impact of Tinubu’s economic reforms, Morka argued that the administration had taken difficult but necessary decisions to address longstanding structural weaknesses in the economy.

He said the reforms, including the harmonisation of the foreign exchange market, were intended to establish a more stable economic environment capable of attracting investment and supporting long-term growth.

“Any programme of economic reform is not self-executing. It follows a logic and it follows science. If you get your foreign exchange system right, for example, like this government is getting it right, then you create the kind of stability that attracts foreign investment,” he said.

Responding to figures cited during the programme on multidimensional poverty, including an estimated 17.9 million additional Nigerians falling into poverty between 2021 and 2024, Morka argued that the statistics needed to be understood within the broader context of the country’s economic adjustments.

He explained that the foreign exchange reforms had altered the naira’s value against the dollar, affecting the international purchasing power of Nigerians’ incomes.

According to him, the immediate effects of the reforms should be assessed alongside their potential benefits to the economy over the medium and long term.

“What this president has done by floating the exchange rates in this country saved Nigeria from utter disintegration,” Morka said.

He acknowledged the economic difficulties facing Nigerians but insisted that the administration was addressing problems that had accumulated over several decades.

“This country has never received the kind of attention at fixing the ills of the economy of this country. Never before has that been done,” he said.

Morka added that the government’s policies were designed to establish the foundations for sustainable prosperity, arguing that the benefits of the reforms would become more evident over time.

On concerns about possible divisions within the APC following remarks by party leaders at a recent political gathering, he dismissed suggestions that the exchanges could lead to sabotage ahead of the election.

He described the gathering as an organic political event where leaders were free to express their views, including through political banter, without following a rigid script.

Morka reiterated that the party was working to consolidate its support and expressed confidence that it would win the 2027 presidential election.

“We are in this election to win, and we are working hard to win,” he said.

However, Ologbondiyan faulted the APC’s defence of the administration’s economic policies, arguing that claims of improving macroeconomic conditions did not reflect the daily experiences of many Nigerians.

He said the rising cost of living, particularly petrol prices, remained a major concern for households struggling to afford basic necessities.

“You cannot be there talking about macroeconomics when we are talking about the reality on the ground here,” Ologbondiyan said.

He recalled that, during the 2023 election campaign, Tinubu had spoken about plans to reduce petrol prices, but argued that the cost of fuel had risen substantially since then.

“When the president was running in 2023, he went to Abeokuta and told Nigerians that there were plans to increase the cost of fuel prices, but not to worry, that they would bring it down. Then a litre of fuel was less than N200. Today, a litre of fuel in Abuja is N1,420. I bought it yesterday,” he said.

The ADC spokesman also questioned the transparency of the government’s crude oil allocations and debt obligations, particularly the quantities of crude supplied to the Dangote Refinery and the volumes committed to other arrangements.

He argued that Nigerians needed clearer information on crude oil production, royalties, debt repayments and other commitments to determine the resources available to support domestic refining and other economic policies.

Ologbondiyan said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential candidate, had proposed a production subsidy as an alternative approach to addressing fuel costs.

He, however, declined to provide further details of the proposal, saying the presidential candidate would explain its implementation when he addressed the issue publicly.

“It is a matter of strategy, and you cannot expect me to come here and blow out what the candidate has not come out to talk about,” he said.

On the political contest ahead of 2027, Ologbondiyan dismissed projections by APC campaign officials that Tinubu would win at least 10 states in the North and 10 in the South.

He argued that such projections failed to adequately account for changing political dynamics and voters’ experiences under the current administration.

Ologbondiyan also described Atiku as a politician with national reach and experience, claiming that he had a broader pathway to attracting support across the country.

He further argued that voters wanted presidential candidates to engage them directly rather than rely solely on representatives during campaigns.

According to him, Atiku would be present across the country to explain his policies and engage Nigerians ahead of the election.

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The ADC spokesman also accused the APC of encouraging defections by opposition governors in a manner that could weaken Nigeria’s multi-party political system.

He said the movement of elected officials from opposition parties into the ruling party raised concerns about political competition and the concentration of power.

“If you have a situation in which one president is, one way or the other, pulling governors elected in other parties to come and campaign for him, it is indirectly building a one-party state,” Ologbondiyan said.

He added that the ADC had emerged as a platform to challenge what he described as the threat of a one-party state and defend multi-party democracy in Nigeria.