A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dr Pedro Obaseki, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of worsening Nigerians’ economic hardship, claiming that citizens are almost 700 per cent poorer since the President took office in May 2023.
Obaseki, a member of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, made the allegation on Monday during an interview with ARISE News, arguing that rising petrol and energy costs have weakened household purchasing power.
“Nigerians today are more or less almost 700% poorer than the way the day before the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came into office,” he said.
He said the ADC intended to address what he described as “the poverty of the pocket, the poverty of the mind, and the semi-arrested development of the entire Nigerian polity”.
According to Obaseki, the impact of economic policies on ordinary Nigerians should be the main measure of the administration’s performance, rather than official claims or political declarations.
He said: “What has the government of the day, the APC-led government of the day done to the average Nigerian man? The streets are crying today.”
Obaseki also criticised the removal of petrol subsidy and the resulting increase in fuel costs, arguing that the effects had cut across ethnic, religious and regional lines.
He cited poverty estimates he attributed to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, although his claim that Nigerians had become almost 700 per cent poorer was not independently established in the interview.
Turning to the 2027 general election, Obaseki dismissed claims by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike that he had secured the FCT and Rivers State for Tinubu, insisting that voters would ultimately judge the government by their daily economic realities.
“This election is beyond Wike. This election is beyond those intimidating rhetorics,” he said, adding that people’s financial circumstances mattered more than political declarations.
Obaseki expressed confidence in the ADC’s chances in 2027, projecting that the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, could win 24 states. He said the party’s projection took account of the 2023 election results and subsequent political realignments.
He also defended the proposed Atiku–Rotimi Amaechi ticket, describing it as balanced and arguing that both politicians brought experience, political capacity and national reach. He further maintained that Atiku’s economic proposals offered practical alternatives to the current administration’s policies.
On his reported abduction and assault in Benin City, Edo State, Obaseki said he pursued the case through local and international institutions, including Amnesty International, the United Nations and the United States government.
He said he eventually agreed not to collect the ₦500 million judgment awarded in his favour after traditional leaders intervened.
Obaseki also dismissed concerns that threats of violence would prevent ADC supporters from campaigning in Edo State, citing a town hall meeting with Atiku in Benin City three days earlier that he said ended peacefully.
He concluded by predicting that Atiku would win the 2027 presidential election, describing the contest as a defining moment for Nigeria.
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