The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has stated that Nigerians are worse off since the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) took over the reins of political power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
The party stated that over 139 million Nigerians are living below the poverty level, as revealed by the World Bank report on the nation, reports Daily Independent.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the World Bank’s findings provide an “unbiased verdict” on the state of Nigeria’s economy, highlighting how poverty, hunger, and inflation have worsened under the current administration.
“The World Bank numbers tell a painful story: under the APC and President Bola Tinubu’s government, more Nigerians have fallen into poverty than at any other time in our history. In 2019, four out of ten Nigerians were poor. Today, it is at least six out of ten,” the ADC stated.
The party described the reported rise in the number of people living below the poverty line—from 81 million in 2019 to 139 million in 2025—as alarming and contrary to official narratives of progress.
“We recall that President Tinubu, in his Independence Day address, declared triumphantly that ‘the worst is over,’ while citing statistics now shown to be inconsistent with the facts. Behind those optimistic figures lie grim realities — families skipping meals, children dropping out of school, and households selling assets just to survive,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC criticised the federal government for celebrating record revenue collection without addressing the growing cost of living, adding that food inflation has continued to rise sharply.
“Poor families now spend roughly 70 per cent of their income on food, leaving nothing for rent, school fees, or medicine,” the statement added.
It also lamented the shrinking of social protection programmes, noting that coverage had dropped from 20 per cent in 2019 to just 6 per cent in 2025, with government spending on social safety nets now at only 0.14 per cent of GDP — far below the global average of 1.5 per cent.
“The truth is that Nigerians are worse off under the current administration. Contrary to the President’s claim, the worst is not over; it appears the worst has only just begun,” the ADC said.
