By Ayomide Otitoju
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the Tinubu administration’s celebration of Nigeria’s rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), dismissing it as a superficial measure that fails to reflect the harsh economic realities confronting millions of Nigerians.
In a statement on Tuesday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, described the revised GDP figures as “economic cosmetics” meant to obscure the administration’s failures in tackling inflation, poverty, and crumbling infrastructure.
“You can’t rebase hunger because Nigerians cannot eat GDP,” Abdullahi stated, accusing the government of using the data as a public relations tool rather than a reflection of actual progress.
The newly rebased figures place Nigeria’s nominal GDP at ₦373 trillion, but the ADC argued that the increase is misleading, driven largely by currency devaluation rather than economic expansion. It pointed out that GDP per capita has plummeted from $3,223 in 2014 to about $1,000, describing the figures as “bloated, hollow numbers.”
“Economic growth is not about dressed-up numbers that make the government look good. It means nothing if it leaves the majority behind,” the party added.
According to the ADC, rather than signifying economic transformation, the rebasing exercise highlights a lost decade of stagnation, during which Nigeria fell from its position as Africa’s largest economy to fourth, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
The party further alleged that the administration is using the rebased GDP to artificially lower the debt-to-GDP ratio, thereby justifying increased borrowing, despite over 90% of government revenue being channeled into debt servicing.
“There is no real growth in manufacturing, agriculture, or household income. Electricity remains unreliable, healthcare is in shambles, and insecurity persists,” the statement said, describing the rebasing as “statistical seduction with no meaning for ordinary Nigerians.”
The ADC urged the federal government to have an honest national dialogue about the implications of the GDP rebasing, rather than presenting it as a political slogan.
“If rebasing is the government’s solution to everything, then it should also rebase insecurity, rebase hospitals back to life, and rebase hunger off the streets,” it quipped.
Concluding, the party called the GDP rebasing “a verdict on a lost decade of squandered potential, hollow leadership, and broken economic promises.”
