The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the purported growth of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is nothing but “economic cosmetics that neither improves the quality of life for ordinary Nigerians nor solves the foundational crises crippling the economy.” The National Bureau of Statistics had reported that Nigeria’s GDP stood at N372.8 trillion in 2024, after the base year for calculating the figure was shifted to 2019.

But the ADC in a statement yesterday by interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said true economic growth must lift the people up from poverty and hunger. “It must be felt, not announced. And it must bebuilt, not borrowed,” the party said.

According to the ADC, GDP rebasing is a neutral statistical tool to reflect structural changes in the economy. Instead, the party accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of a public relations stunt disguised as economic progress. According to the party, while government officials were busy manufacturing a new GDP figure, millions of Nigerians are battling food inflation, grinding poverty, and collapsing infrastructure.

“Economic growth is not about dressed up numbers that make the government look good. “Economic growth means nothing if it leaves the majority of the people behind and is not felt on the dining table, and in the marketplace,” Abdullahi said. The ADC stated that while the nominal GDP in naira terms has increased to N373 trillion, the figure is largely illusory, and blamed it on poorly managed currency devaluation that has shrunk national wealth and stripped Nigerians of their purchasing power.

“GDP per capita has crashed from $3,223 in 2014 to barely $1,000 today,” the party said. It regretted that within one decade, Nigeria has fallen from being Africa’s largest economy to fourth place, behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria, describing it as an indictment of the APC government that has failed to grow what it inherited, let alone transform it.

ADC stated that the “economic recalibration” has also exposed the emptiness of the APC’s long-promised economic diversification, noting that sectors that should anchor the nation’s future, like agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, and innovation, have either stagnated or regressed. It added that instead of unleashing productivity, the APC government has relied on shallow, headline-driven reforms.

It further accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to cover its economic failure with statistical cosmetics, as there is no real increase in industrial output. ADC said APC wants Nigerians to believe that the results of the rebasing exercise is a sign of prosperity, but told the government that the people cannot be fooled as there has been no improvement in their welfare since two years Tinubu assumed office.