The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticised the Tinubu administration’s celebration of Nigeria’s recently rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), describing the move as “economic cosmetics” and a deliberate attempt to mask deep-rooted economic failures with superficial statistics.
In a press statement released on Monday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the federal government of engaging in a misleading public relations campaign that presents statistical recalibrations as genuine economic progress, while everyday Nigerians grapple with rising poverty, inflation, and infrastructural decay.
“Ordinarily, GDP rebasing is a neutral statistical tool to reflect structural changes in the economy,” Abdullahi stated. “But in the hands of this government, it has become a mirror, exposing the economic decay and leadership failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the years.”
He noted that Nigeria’s GDP, which was estimated at $509 billion following a rebasing in 2014, has now plunged to $244 billion, pushing the country from its former position as Africa’s largest economy to fourth place, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
According to the ADC, the rise in nominal GDP to ₦373 trillion is illusory, driven primarily by a poorly managed currency devaluation that has significantly eroded national wealth and personal incomes. The party also noted the sharp decline in GDP per capita—from $3,223 in 2014 to just around $1,000—highlighting the widening gap between economic indicators and real-life experiences of Nigerians.
“Economic growth is not about dressed-up numbers that make the government look good,” Abdullahi said. “It means nothing if it leaves the majority behind and is not felt on the dining table or in the marketplace.”
The ADC further expressed concern that the rebasing exercise is being used as a smokescreen to manipulate the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio in order to justify further borrowing, warning that such tactics could deepen Nigeria’s economic vulnerability.
“What Nigeria needs is fiscal discipline, not statistical manipulation,” the party said, accusing the government of wasteful spending and misprioritisation in the face of widespread suffering.
The statement also criticised the administration’s failure to deliver on its long-touted economic diversification agenda, noting that key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure remain stagnant or in decline.
“There is no real increase in industrial output, no rise in real income, and no improvements in electricity, health care, or education,” Abdullahi said. “Just bloated, hollow numbers. This can only be described with one word: deception.”
The party dismissed the rebasing fanfare as a propaganda tool aimed at reshaping perceptions rather than addressing economic realities. It accused the government of avoiding a transparent national conversation on the implications of the rebasing, opting instead for headline-grabbing announcements.
“The Tinubu administration is not trying to fix the economy—it is trying to reframe it,” the statement read. “But Nigerians are not fooled. Ask any citizen whether their life has improved since President Tinubu took office, and the answer will be a resounding no.”
The ADC concluded by calling for policies that deliver tangible results for Nigerians, asserting that “true economic growth must lift the people. It must be felt, not announced. And it must be built, not borrowed.”
The statement, which read like a sweeping indictment of the APC-led government’s economic stewardship, concluded with a stern warning: “Until this government rebases its thinking, all the GDP recalibrations in the world will remain what they are—statistical seduction with no meaning for ordinary Nigerians.”
