The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized the Tinubu administration for what it described as a “misleading celebration” of Nigeria’s recently rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), calling the announcement a “public relations stunt” that fails to address the country’s deep economic challenges.
In a strongly worded statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party dismissed the fanfare around the new GDP figures as “economic cosmetics,” arguing that the rebasing exercise does nothing to improve the quality of life for ordinary Nigerians. The ADC stressed that millions of citizens continue to grapple with soaring food prices, worsening poverty levels, and failing infrastructure, despite government claims of economic progress.
The opposition party noted that while GDP rebasing is a neutral statistical exercise, the government’s handling of it has only “exposed the economic decay and leadership failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the past decade.” It pointed out that Nigeria’s GDP, which stood at $509 billion in 2014 after a previous rebasing, has now fallen to $244 billion, dropping the country from Africa’s largest economy to fourth place behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
“The nominal GDP may have risen in naira terms, but it is a hollow figure, driven by currency devaluation that has stripped Nigerians of their purchasing power,” the statement read. “GDP per capita has collapsed from $3,223 in 2014 to barely $1,000 today. This government is manipulating numbers to justify more borrowing, but over 90 percent of revenue still goes to servicing existing debt, while key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, health care, and education remain stagnant or in decline.”
The ADC concluded by accusing the Tinubu administration of prioritizing propaganda over meaningful policy reforms. “Rebasing GDP is not economic reform, it is simply counting the same broken economy differently,” the party declared. “True economic growth must uplift people, create jobs, and improve living standards. This rebasing exercise is not a triumph, but a damning verdict on a lost decade of squandered potential, hollow leadership, and broken promises.”
 has criticized the Tinubu administration for what it described as a “misleading celebration” of....){kind=link}