The All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for comments about the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The APC said the ADC’s take on the recent report presented at the Agora Policy dialogue “speaks either to its shocking ignorance of economic policy or its willful blindness to the justification for, and transformative impacts of, ongoing economic reforms”.
Felix Morka, national publicity secretary of the APC, said the reforms by the current administration were necessary to rescue the country from economic stagnation, and that the economic policies introduced by the Tinubu administration are reversing decades of structural distortions in Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Morka said the fuel subsidy and foreign exchange regimes operated before May 29, 2023, had become an existential threat to Nigeria’s economic survival, and that removing or reforming the systems had long been part of the national agenda.
Morka said previous administrations lacked the political will to implement the reforms due to concerns about temporary hardship.
Morka said the report cited by the ADC acknowledged the need for reforms aimed at correcting structural distortions in the economy.
He accused the opposition party of failing to present alternative policy proposals.
“Clearly, the ADC does not recognize itself as a political party,” he said.
“The ADC has not articulated a single alternative policy position or prescription of benefit to Nigerians.
“Condemning the APC and its policies has become its operating manifesto with absolutely nothing to offer by itself or by its power-mongering leaders.
“The ADC continues to wallow in the idea that its empty attacks will somehow endear the party to Nigerians.
“But Nigerians are, by far, smarter than that. They know the Party that’s working for them and those that are only shooting the breeze and disturbing the airwaves like the ADC.”
Morka said fuel subsidy removal “represents one of the most consequential fiscal policy decisions” in Nigeria’s recent history.
He said the policy previously consumed trillions of naira annually while offering limited benefits to citizens.
Morka said resources previously spent on subsidy are now being redirected to sectors such as infrastructure, education, healthcare and social development.
“Today, the benefits of the reforms have become more self-evident and Nigeria is better for it,” he said.
“Nigerians understand this and have been stoic and patriotic in their highly valued support of the government and its reforms.”
Morka said Nigeria’s economy is expanding steadily, adding that the country’s gross domestic product grew by 4.4 percent last year.
Morka added that the economy is projected to grow by 5.5 percent this fiscal year, adding that subnational governments are also receiving higher revenue allocations.
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