The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has used a World Bank report showing 139 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line to accuse President Tinubu’s economic policies of having “ruined lives.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to accept the findings of the World Bank’s October 2025 report, arguing that it confirms the administration’s economic policies have inflicted intense suffering on ordinary Nigerians. The ADC points to the report’s assertion that “139 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line” — up from 81 million in 2019 — as evidence of policy failure.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party claims the government is attempting to mask economic deterioration with manipulated statistics. “‘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,’” the statement reads.
The ADC further accuses the administration of hiding the scale of deprivation by setting a deflated poverty threshold: “By using a deflated local poverty threshold, the government effectively undercounts millions of poor Nigerians. A poverty line set too low does not protect the poor; it hides them.” The party calls on the government to shift from revenue-centric rhetoric to policies that center on food security, job creation, and meaningful social protection.