Abuja, Nigeria – The All Progressives Congress (APC) has fiercely pushed back against criticisms from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) regarding a recent report showing that Nigeria’s poverty rate has surged to 63 percent.
In a press statement shared with Okay News in Abuja on Saturday, the ruling party defended President Bola Tinubu’s bold economic policies as necessary measures to save the nation from financial ruin.
The APC dismissed the ADC’s interpretation of the Agora Policy dialogue report, which labeled the rising poverty rate from 49 to 63 percent a “damning verdict” on the current administration. Instead, the ruling party accused the opposition of “shocking ignorance” and “willful blindness,” arguing that the report itself actually highlights the absolute necessity of correcting crippling, age-long structural distortions in the Nigerian economy.
Defending the controversial removal of the fuel subsidy and the harmonization of foreign exchange rates, the APC stated that the previous systems were an “existential threat” that consumed up to 90 percent of the country’s total annual revenue. The party noted that the old subsidy regime merely enriched import cartels and enabled cross-border smuggling, whereas those drained resources are now being redirected toward vital infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
The APC concluded the statement by slamming the ADC as a party of “power mongers” with zero alternative policy solutions, asserting that Nigerians are smart enough to see through their empty political attacks.
