ADC lambasts FG over celebration of rebased GDP
By Ndukaku Ihe
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has lambasted the Federal Government for celebrating the rebasing of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It said the euphoria by President Bola Tinubu’s administration was “misleading and a cynical public relations stunt disguised as economic progress.”
The ADC, in a statement by its interim national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, Tuesday, said the fanfare around the rebased GDP was “economic cosmetics” that has neither improved the life of ordinary Nigerians nor addressed the crises plaguing the economy.
The opposition party noted that while government is celebrating new GDP figures, millions of Nigerians are contending with food inflation, poverty, and collapsing public infrastructure.
It argued that economic growth is not “about dressed up numbers that make the government look good”, stating that economic growth is meaningless if it does not reflect in the lives of the people.
“Ordinarily, GDP rebasing is a neutral statistical tool to reflect structural changes in the economy. 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. Nigeria’s GDP, which stood at $509 billion in 2014 after a previous rebasing, has now collapsed to $244 billion.
“In a single decade, Nigeria has fallen from Africa’s largest economy to fourth place, now behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. This is not merely a technical recalibration; it is a blunt indictment of a government that has failed to grow what it inherited, let alone transform it.
“While the nominal GDP in naira terms has increased to ₦373 trillion, the figure is largely illusory. It is the product of a steep and poorly managed currency devaluation that has shrunk national wealth and stripped Nigerians of their purchasing power. GDP per capita has crashed from $3,223 in 2014 to barely $1,000 today.
“The rebasing might make the debt-to-GDP ratio look better on paper, but it does not create room for more reckless borrowing. What Nigeria needs is fiscal discipline, something this government has consistently failed to demonstrate, as seen in its bloated, ill-prioritised budgets and wasteful spending amidst a sea of suffering, “the ADC said.
Furthermore, the opposition party noted the economic recalibration has also exposed the alleged emptiness of the economic diversification promised by the APC.
According to the party, “the sectors that should anchor our future, like agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, and innovation, have either stagnated or regressed. Instead of unleashing productivity, this government has relied on shallow, headline-driven reforms. And the result is a structurally weak economy unable to compete or lift millions out of poverty.
“What has become clear is that the Tinubu administration is attempting to cover its economic failure with statistical cosmetics. There is no real increase in industrial output. No boost in agricultural productivity. No rise in real income. No improvement in electricity, health care or security. Just bloated, hollow numbers. This can only be described with one word: deception.
“The truth is that this government is not trying to fix the economy. It is trying to reframe it, relying on statistical manipulation rather than policy substance. Nigerians are not fooled. Ask any citizen whether their life has improved since President Tinubu assumed office two years ago, and the answer will be a resounding no. Yet, the APC-led federal government wants us to believe that the results of this rebasing exercise is a sign of prosperity.”
The ADC accused the government of allegedly trying to manipulate the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, in order to justify more borrowing. It stated no matter the alleged manipulation of figures, the fact is that over 90 percent of government revenue is still deployed towards debt servicing.
“Foreign direct investment is not flowing in. Investor confidence remains low. Public hospitals are still empty, and schools remain underfunded. State governments are still dependent on federal allocations, and many cannot even pay salaries. What then is the value of a rebased GDP that does not impact lives?
“If this is the Tinubu administration’s solution to everything, then it should also try to rebase its way out of the insecurity it promised to end. Rebase the national grid into 24-hour electricity. Rebase the hospitals back to life. Rebase the country away from hunger. And while at it, rebase the suffering of the millions of families it has plunged into poverty.
“Instead of engaging stakeholders in a transparent conversation about the rebasing process and its implications, the government rushed to announce it like a campaign slogan. It has chosen propaganda over policy, headlines over substance. But rebasing GDP is not economic reform, it is simply a new way of counting the same broken economy.”
“We have rebased the economy, yes. But this government has not rebased its thinking. Until it does, all the GDP recalibrations in the world will remain what they are, statistical seduction with no meaning for ordinary Nigerians.
“The ADC believes that true economic growth must lift the people. It must be felt, not announced. And it must be built, not borrowed. As far as we are concerned, this rebasing is not a triumph. It is a verdict. A verdict on a lost decade of squandered potential, hollow leadership, and broken economic promises,” the party stated.
