The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the rising cost of living and insecurity, saying Nigerians are hungry as he responded to the President’s declaration that an age of prosperity has begun.
Delivering his Independence Day speech at the ADC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, October 1, 2026, to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary, Atiku asserted that Nigerians were still struggling to meet their basic needs.
“A President may announce a new chapter in a speech. He cannot announce food onto a family’s table or money into a worker’s pocket,” he said.
“Bola, where is this prosperity?”
Atiku argued that the reduction in the rate of inflation did not mean Nigerians had recovered the purchasing power lost to rising prices, stressing that economic growth and increased exports must translate into improved living conditions.
“Growth must improve lives. It cannot be a certificate of success that government awards itself while citizens struggle to survive,” he stated.
He also criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, saying the policy had contributed to higher transport and food costs without sufficient protection for families affected by the resulting economic shock.
The former Vice President noted that the government had promised that savings from subsidy removal would benefit Nigerians.
“Three years later, the pain has an address in every home. Bola, where is the benefit?” Atiku asked.
He cited changes in the prices of petrol, eggs, and bread to illustrate what he described as the decline in Nigerians’ purchasing power since 2023.
Atiku recalled that a ₦30,000 minimum wage in April 2023 could buy about 118 litres of petrol, while the ₦70,000 minimum wage could buy about 50 litres at the time of his comparison.
He also stated that the average price of an egg rose from about ₦88 in April 2023 to about ₦261 in May 2026, while a sliced loaf that cost about ₦500 in April 2023 was about ₦2,000 for a smaller loaf by May 2026.
“If 2023 was the illness, why does your ‘cure’ buy less fuel, fewer eggs, and a smaller loaf of bread?” he asked.
Atiku equally questioned the government’s handling of insecurity, saying armed groups had killed thousands and displaced families, while farmers, parents, and other Nigerians continued to live with fear.
He pledged that his administration, if elected, would prioritise affordability and the protection of lives, including measures to reduce the cost of food, fuel, and power while improving access to healthcare and education.
On fuel, Atiku proposed what he described as a capped and budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries.
“Imported petrol will not qualify,” he said, emphasising that the benefit should reach consumers through lower pump prices while the costs and payments would be independently audited.
Atiku also criticised the government over its proposed and existing borrowing, calling for greater accountability on the use of public funds.
“Nigeria’s public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion at the end of June, and your government is now discussing another $1.5 billion in World Bank loans,” he decried.
“Before you borrow another dollar in the people’s name, tell them what the money already borrowed has delivered.”
Similarly, he questioned the government’s cash transfer programme, following a claim by the ruling party’s chairman that more than 10 million Nigerians had received ₦75,000 each.
Atiku challenged the government to provide an auditable account of how the beneficiaries were identified and how the payments were made.
“If you could find ten million people to pay, you can account for the payments,” he argued.
The ADC presidential candidate also raised concerns over the government’s budget process, questioning the continued operation of the 2025 budget alongside the 2026 budget.
“A budget should be a timetable for delivery, not a ball passed from one year to the next,” he said.
Atiku further criticised the reported award of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway contract to Hitech, a Chagoury Group company, without an open public tender.
He called for the publication of the invitations, bids, evaluations, final contract, and variations relating to the project.
He also demanded payment of outstanding debts owed to local contractors who, according to him, had completed government projects but were still awaiting payment.
On transportation, Atiku challenged Tinubu’s Independence Day promise of lower transport fares from October 1, asking the government to publish the routes covered, the previous fares, the new fares, and the number of beneficiaries.
“Nigerians cannot board an announcement,” he asserted.
Atiku also rejected Tinubu’s assertion that Nigerians had made difficult decisions together with his government.
“No, Bola! You made the decisions alone, not with Nigerians. The people have only paid the price for your reckless decisions.”
He further called for the payment of outstanding entitlements to military pensioners and federal workers who, he said, had reported delays in salaries, wage awards, and promotion arrears.
“A growing government account is not a recovering Nigerian. A speech about prosperity is not prosperity,” Atiku argued.
On political freedom and the rule of law, he called for the fair application of the law and raised concerns over the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
He also called for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s right to lawful appeal to be respected following his conviction and repeated his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after wearing “Tinubu Must Go” T-shirts.
Atiku promised to work towards ending election rigging if elected president, saying he would respect the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and support the prompt publication of results from every polling unit.
“Your vote must count as you cast it. You should not need powerful friends to make it count,” he remarked.
He noted that Nigerians had the right to examine the record of those in power and decide the country’s future through the ballot.
Atiku further stated that the country needed a government focused on ordinary Nigerians’ ability to afford food, travel safely, access healthcare and education, and find work that offered a better future.
“Our founders did not win sovereignty so that a few could prosper while millions merely survive,” he said.
“Bola, the Promised Land is not in sight merely because you can see it from the villa. Nigerians must be able to reach it. We have chosen a different course, peacefully and together, through the power of our votes; the message is clear: Tinubu must go,” he added.
