Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration, arguing that declining household purchasing power is pushing homes, vehicles and basic consumer goods beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.
Atiku said the latest Household Expectations Survey released by the Central Bank of Nigeria provided fresh evidence that Nigerian families were struggling to maintain their standard of living despite repeated claims by the Federal Government that the economy was recovering.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president described the survey as a poor reflection of the administration’s economic policies.
The CBN survey recorded buying-condition indices of 28.7 points for motor vehicles, 28.9 for consumer durables and 30.0 for buildings and landed property.
Households’ willingness to purchase such assets was even weaker, with vehicle purchases recording 18.7 points and buildings and landed property standing at 19.2 points.
Atiku said the figures were particularly revealing because they represented the expectations and purchasing decisions of households as captured by the apex bank itself.
“These are not figures manufactured by the opposition. They are the verdict of Nigerian households captured by the Central Bank under President Tinubu’s own government,” he said.
The African Democratic Congress presidential candidate argued that the country’s economic difficulties had gone beyond the rising cost of food and other necessities, warning that Nigerians were increasingly losing the ability to acquire assets or improve their living conditions.
“What the figures tell us is simple: Nigerians are being priced out of decent living. A home is becoming a fantasy. A car is becoming a luxury. Household appliances are increasingly beyond reach,” Atiku said.
He said many households were now committing most of their earnings to food, transportation, electricity and education, leaving little room for savings, investment or asset acquisition.
Atiku also pointed to the rising cost of preparing jollof rice as another indication of the pressure being placed on household finances.
Citing the latest SBM Jollof Index, he said the ingredients needed to prepare a pot of jollof rice for a family of five had risen to an average of ₦29,578.
Atiku noted that the figure represented more than 40 per cent of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, before workers accounted for rent, transportation, electricity, school fees and healthcare.
“Only recently, the Jollof Index told us what Tinubu’s economy has done to the Nigerian kitchen. Now the CBN survey is telling us what it has done to the Nigerian dream.
“Tinubu first stole jollof rice from the family dining table. Now, his economy is taking away the house in which the table should stand and the car with which the breadwinner should get to work,” he said.
The former vice president accused the administration of placing excessive emphasis on headline economic indicators while failing to adequately address the erosion of household purchasing power.
He argued that metrics such as gross domestic product growth and foreign reserves could not, on their own, determine whether economic reforms were improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“Government officials can celebrate GDP growth, foreign reserves and other statistics from air-conditioned conference rooms, but ordinary Nigerians have become unwilling economists, calculating every cup of rice, every litre of fuel and every transport fare before deciding what their families can afford.
“Between official statistics and empty cooking pots, the cooking pots do not lie,” he added.
Atiku further warned that declining consumer purchasing power could eventually hurt businesses and weaken economic growth by reducing demand for goods and services.
“An economy is not successful merely because government officials can quote favourable statistics. An economy succeeds when citizens can work, earn, eat, save, invest and progressively improve their standard of living.
“Before there is GDP, there must be dinner. Before there is prosperity, there must be purchasing power. And before a government congratulates itself on reform, ordinary citizens must be able to see and feel improvement in their own lives,” the statement further read.
The Federal Government has continued to defend its economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, maintaining that the measures are intended to stabilise the economy, attract investment and establish a foundation for sustainable growth.
The government has also cited improvements in selected macroeconomic indicators as evidence that the reforms are yielding results, although households continue to face elevated food, transportation and energy costs.
Atiku, however, maintained that the effectiveness of economic policy should ultimately be measured by the conditions in which Nigerians live.
“President Tinubu should stop governing Nigeria through PowerPoint economics. The real economy is the Nigerian family’s pocket, and that pocket is increasingly empty.
“A government under which families struggle to afford jollof rice, workers cannot contemplate buying cars and millions see home ownership disappearing beyond the horizon cannot proclaim prosperity.
“Tinubu has not merely increased the cost of living. He has increased the cost of dreaming,” he added.
(Ripples)