The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly criticized the Tinubu administration over its celebration of Nigeria’s recent GDP rebase, describing it as a hollow public relations tactic rather than evidence of real economic growth.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently announced that Nigeria’s nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stands at ₦372.82 trillion in 2024, following a comprehensive rebasing exercise. According to NBS, this rebasing reflects structural shifts in the economy, with the base year now set at 2019. The rebased nominal GDP figures were ₦205.09 trillion in 2019, ₦213.64 trillion in 2020, ₦243.30 trillion in 2021, ₦274.23 trillion in 2022, ₦314.02 trillion in 2023, and ₦372.82 trillion in 2024. (GDP rebase)
However, in a statement by its Acting National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the excitement around the GDP rebase as “economic cosmetics,” stressing that it does not address the harsh realities faced by ordinary Nigerians. The party noted that while the government parades the new figures, citizens continue to grapple with unprecedented food inflation, poverty, and failing infrastructure.
> “Economic growth is not about inflated numbers that make the government look good. It means nothing if it does not improve lives, if it isn’t felt on dining tables or in the marketplace,” Abdullahi stated.
The ADC further accused the Tinubu administration of using the GDP rebase as a cover for economic failure. It emphasized that there has been no corresponding rise in industrial output, agricultural productivity, real income, power supply, healthcare, or security.
The opposition party argued that while GDP rebasing is a neutral statistical process, the APC-led government has weaponized it for propaganda. It pointed out that Nigeria’s economy, once Africa’s largest with a GDP of $509 billion after the 2014 rebasing, has dropped to $244 billion, placing the nation behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
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The ADC criticized the illusion of growth presented by the new GDP figures, linking it to currency devaluation and declining purchasing power. GDP per capita, it noted, has plunged from $3,223 in 2014 to around $1,000 today. The party warned that even if the rebasing improves the debt-to-GDP ratio on paper, it does not justify more borrowing.
Nigeria’s economic outlook highlighted through the latest GDP rebase figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The party further condemned the administration’s failure to deliver on promises of economic diversification, stating that sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, and innovation have stagnated.
> “This GDP rebase is nothing but a new way of counting the same broken economy. Instead of policies that fix problems, we get statistical distractions,” the ADC said.
It added that over 90% of government revenue still goes into servicing debt, while foreign investment, healthcare, education, and infrastructure remain in decline.
The ADC concluded by challenging the Tinubu administration to show real results:
“If they believe rebasing can solve everything, then let them rebase hunger, rebase insecurity, and rebase the suffering of millions of Nigerians. True economic growth must be seen, felt, and built, not borrowed or fabricated by numbers”.
