The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said the October 2025 World Bank’s report on Nigeria economy, which shows that 139 million Nigerians are living below the poverty line, is the true position of the nation’s economy.
The party in a statement by the interim National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government of peddling deceptive statistics.
ADC stated the poverty figure represents 61% increase, from the 81 million in 2019, adding that it is clear evidence that the economic policies of the Tinubu-led APC government have actually sent more Nigerians into abject poverty, contrary to the government’s performance propaganda and claims of progress.
It further noted that the World Bank report exposed the wide gap between the government’s rhetoric of economic progress and everyday reality of Nigerians.
ADC said while the APC administration celebrates increased revenue and meeting revenue targets, more citizens are slipping into abject poverty at a rate never seen before in Nigeria.
According to the party, the APC government is masking its domestic economic failures with creative statistics that paint rosy pictures of economic progress while the people continue to suffer.
“The World Bank numbers tell a simple but 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 10 Nigerians were poor. Today, it is, at least, six out of 10,” ADC stated.
It recalled that President Tinubu, in his recent Independence Day address to the nation, declared that ‘the worst is over’, but said the World Bank report have now been proven to be calculated whitewash to serve the government’s narrative of progress.
“However, what is important is the reality that those numbers were meant to hide,” the party added, and said “behind President Tinubu’s shiny statistics are the grim realities of historic human suffering — families skipping meals, children dropping out of school, and households selling assets just to buy food and basic drugs to survive.”
ADC stated that under the APC, food inflation has gone through the roof, with the price of a bag of rice multiplying five times in just four years.
“Poor families now spend roughly 70 percent of their income on food, leaving nothing for rent, school fees, or medicine,” the party stated, adding that the so-called social safety nets that should protect the vulnerable have also collapsed.
According to the party, contrary to the President Tinubu’s claim, the worst is not over; “instead, it appears that the worst has actually not arrived.
“Rather than continuing to dig in to defend its propaganda, the government should accept the unbiased verdict from its partner, the World Bank, and try to make amends before it is too late.”
ADC said what Nigeria needs now is not cosmetic reform but a government that puts the people first and understands that inclusive growth is not just another slogan, it is a conscientious strategy.
