APC defends Tinubu’s poverty claim, blames PDP’s 16 years in power

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defended President Bola Tinubu’s declare that opposition politicians prompted the starvation and poverty confronting Nigerians, blaming earlier administrations, significantly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for failing to handle the nation’s longstanding financial issues.

The get together’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, stated the foundations of Nigeria’s present poverty disaster have been laid earlier than Mr Tinubu assumed workplace in May 2023, arguing that former leaders mustn’t painting the hardship as an issue that emerged beneath the present administration.

Mr Morka spoke on Monday throughout an look on News Central Television’s Breakfast Central programme, the place he responded to questions on Mr Tinubu’s remarks on the APC’s 2027 presidential marketing campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.

At the rally, Mr Tinubu accused opposition politicians of making starvation and poverty, insisting that his administration was working to eradicate each issues.

“I have heard the opposition talking about hunger and poverty. Who created them? They did. They created the hunger; they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it,” the president stated.

Defending the assertion, Mr Morka stated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, now an opposition determine, had been a part of a political institution that ruled Nigeria for 16 years beneath the PDP between 1999 and 2015 however did not eradicate poverty.

“Poverty has been with us. As a matter of fact, the foundations for the endemic poverty we’re dealing with today were laid in that era,” he stated.

He argued that Atiku, who served as vp from 1999 to 2007, ought to clarify why successive administrations failed to handle poverty earlier than criticising the present authorities over the financial hardship Nigerians are experiencing.

Mr Morka maintained that Mr Tinubu was referring to the historic roots of poverty slightly than suggesting that the present administration had no accountability for the situations Nigerians face right now.

However, the defence comes amid persistent considerations about the price of dwelling, declining buying power and the influence of the Tinubu administration’s financial reforms on households.

The World Bank estimated that 69.6 per cent of Nigerians lived beneath the lower-middle-income poverty line of $4.20 a day in 2025, whereas 50.8 per cent, or about 123 million individuals, have been dwelling in excessive poverty. The figures underscore the dimensions of the problem going through the federal government, even because it argues that its reforms are essential to stabilise the financial system.

Mr Morka disputed the best way poverty figures are typically introduced in public discussions, arguing that foreign money depreciation and modifications in the exchange-rate system have to be thought-about when assessing incomes and dwelling requirements.

He stated the federal government’s determination to harmonise the change charge was supposed to right distortions in the financial system and that assessing the coverage solely by means of its fast results on buying power would give an incomplete image.

The APC spokesperson acknowledged that the reforms had lowered Nigerians’ buying power and contributed to the excessive price of dwelling however argued that the federal government had little various to addressing what he described as deep-rooted financial distortions.

He additionally defended the removing of petrol subsidy, saying the coverage was needed to cut back the burden on public funds and finish a system that successive governments had struggled to reform.

Mr Morka argued that the federal government needs to be assessed not solely by whether or not Nigerians have instantly felt enhancements in their dwelling situations but in addition by whether or not its insurance policies are producing measurable progress in the direction of financial restoration.

He stated financial transformation couldn’t be achieved in a single day, citing nations corresponding to China, Malaysia and Singapore as examples of economies whose improvement took time.

“We didn’t tell you we had a magic wand to correct Nigeria’s generational problems in one day or in two weeks or in one year,” he stated.

According to him, the Tinubu administration has launched a number of measures to cushion the consequences of its reforms, together with money transfers to susceptible households and initiatives aimed toward lowering transportation prices and bettering entry to financing.

He stated the federal government was not denying the hardship attributable to the reforms however argued that the consequences of eradicating long-standing financial help methods would inevitably be felt by households.

Mr Morka additionally defended the administration’s electricity-sector reforms, saying the modifications had empowered states and different actors to develop power-generation capability, though the outcomes would take time to materialise.

He maintained that the reforms would finally enhance electrical energy provide and help financial progress.

The APC’s defence comes as Mr Tinubu begins his marketing campaign for a second time period amid public considerations over the price of dwelling and the consequences of his administration’s financial insurance policies.

While the federal government argues that the reforms are needed to revive financial stability, the fast influence on family incomes and the persistence of widespread poverty stay central points in the controversy over its financial document.

Morka defends autos for marketing campaign mobilisation

Mr Morka additionally defended the supply of autos for political campaigns by First Lady Remi Tinubu, amid the controversy surrounding the presentation of seven new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado sport utility autos (SUVs) to chose APC youth leaders.

The get together’s National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, had stated the autos have been supposed to help election mobilisation forward of the 2027 common elections, prompting criticism over the reported price of the fleet amid the financial hardship going through Nigerians.

Responding to questions on marketing campaign autos, Mr Morka argued that such provisions have been a part of the logistics required for electioneering and shouldn’t be interpreted as rewards for get together loyalists.

“During the campaign, every campaign season, people brand vehicles to move because it’s an activity. It’s not as if they were given as a reward,” he stated.

He added that autos supplied for marketing campaign functions needs to be understood inside the context of preparations for the 2027 elections.