The African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, faulted the Federal government’s celebration of Nigeria’s reported GDP growth, saying the figures do not reflect the economic strain facing ordinary citizens.

The party’s position speaks to a growing gap between official claims of progress and the daily reality of rising food prices, shrinking incomes, job losses and mounting business costs across the country.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said economic growth is meaningless if it does not improve how people actually live.

“People do not eat GDP,” Abdullahi said.

The party said millions of Nigerians remain trapped in hunger, inflation, unemployment and weakening purchasing power despite government claims of recovery.

Rejecting the government’s narrative, the ADC said, “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) rejects the Federal Government’s attempt to use headline GDP figures to whitewash the deep economic suffering Nigerians are currently enduring across the country.

“No government should be celebrating economic statistics while millions of its citizens are battling hunger, poverty, collapsing purchasing power, and rising hopelessness.

“The reality of the Nigerian economy is not what is written in government presentations. The reality is what Nigerians confront every day in markets, on farms, in factories, in shops, and in their homes.”

The party pointed to intensifying pressure on households and businesses nationwide.

Abdullahi said: “Food prices are unbearable. Transportation costs have become punitive. Small businesses are shutting down daily under the crushing weight of inflation, energy costs, and weak consumer demand. Salaries have lost value. Families who once lived modestly are now struggling to survive.

“Economic growth that does not reduce suffering, create jobs, improve incomes, or restore dignity to citizens is empty growth. Growth that only exists in official reports while citizens descend deeper into hardship is not meaningful progress.”

The ADC also questioned what Nigerians are being asked to celebrate under current conditions.

The party said, “The purpose of governance is not to manage public relations for economic statistics. The purpose of governance is to improve the living conditions of the people.

“What exactly should Nigerians celebrate? The fact that food inflation continues to devastate households? That millions of young Nigerians remain unemployed or underemployed? That businesses are collapsing faster than new ones are emerging? That more citizens are slipping into poverty despite working harder than ever?”

Calling for a shift in approach, the party urged the government to prioritise measurable improvements in citizens’ welfare over headline figures.

The ADC said: “A government that is serious about economic recovery would show humility, acknowledge the pain Nigerians are experiencing, and focus on delivering measurable improvements in living conditions instead of celebrating figures that have no meaning to hungry citizens.

“The ADC believes that the true test of economic policy is simple: Can Nigerians live better today than they did yesterday? For millions of Nigerians, the answer is no.

“Nigeria needs an economy that works for ordinary people, not an economy that only looks impressive in presentations to investors and international institutions.

“Until growth is felt in the homes of ordinary citizens, through affordable food, stable electricity, decent jobs, lower business costs, and improved purchasing power, this government has no moral basis to declare economic success.”

The 2023 governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has opted out of the Obidient Movement, saying he is not leaving the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

Rhodes-Vivour is a staunch supporter of Peter Obi, who moved from the ADC to the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, on Sunday.

Since Obi and his prospective 2027 running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined NDC, there has been a gale of defections from the ADC to NDC.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, Rhodes-Vivour said himself and his team would remain in ADC to fight for a better Nigeria.

“To those who have made the difficult decision to move on to a new platform, I offer my genuine respect and best wishes.

“These are hard choices, We are all fighting for a better Nigeria, even when our roads diverge. I want to make it clear that I am staying in the ADC,” he said.

The National Publicity Secretary of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has claimed that the party favoured Peter Obi more than any other aspirant while with them.

Abdullahi said this while faulting Obi’s claim that internal wrangling was part of the reason he defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Featuring on Arise Television’s Prime Time, Abdullahi said Obi and Kwankwaso’s defection means a lot because they are significant politicians.

He said: “I will be lying to say that their defection didn’t mean anything because these are two significant frontline politicians in this country and when you lose those two politicians then you will fill that you have lost something.

“But it’s not a mortal blow because what we are trying to do is to build a broad based coalition that would include everyone.

“The reason we are building this coalition is because our individual parties have been destabilized and the only way out was to come together.

“There was a consensus among us that the direction this country is going was quite precarious and the only way we can win election and rescue the country from the misrule of the APC is to build a party that is formidable enough.

“Obi and Kwankwaso have a different political idea of what the party should be doing.

“Obi said himself that once we present two candidates against President Tinubu, we have given him a chance. I wonder what has changed.

“So if the legal challenges are the reason that we have left after creating the impression that ADC is drowning in these mountains of legal challenges, the answer is no.

“At the moment, we have only three cases which are flimsy without trying to be prejudicial, as the National Publicity Secretary of ADC.

“I can tell you that none of the aspirants and leaders have been favoured like Peter Obi.”