The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day address, saying Nigerians cannot eat economic growth figures while millions continue to struggle with rising living costs.

Atiku, in his Independence Day address on Thursday, said the past three years of the Tinubu administration had plunged Nigerians into what he described as the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis, with families struggling to afford food, healthcare, transportation and other basic necessities.

Tinubu, while addressing Nigerians to commemorate the 2026 Independence Anniversary, on Thursday, said that after three and a half years in office, there was undeniable evidence that Nigeria’s economic outlook had improved.

Reacting, ADC presidential candidate challenged the President’s claim that Nigeria had entered an age of prosperity, asking where the prosperity was when Nigerians could barely afford to survive.

Atiku also faulted the government’s handling of fuel subsidy removal, taxation and other economic reforms, arguing that their impact had further increased the burden on households and businesses.

Blaze 91.5 FM