The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized the Tinubu administration’s celebration of Nigeria’s recently rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP), describing it as “economic cosmetics” and a smokescreen to conceal worsening economic realities.
In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the government’s portrayal of GDP recalibrations as economic progress, asserting that the daily experiences of Nigerians reflect the opposite.
The party highlighted that Nigeria’s GDP, once valued at $509 billion after a 2014 rebasing, has now fallen to $244 billion, dropping the country to the fourth position in Africa behind South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria.
The ADC also criticized the rise in nominal GDP to ₦373 trillion, attributing it to currency devaluation rather than real growth. It noted a steep decline in GDP per capita from $3,223 in 2014 to around $1,000 in 2025, underscoring growing economic inequality.
The party further accused the government of using rebasing to manipulate debt-to-GDP ratios and justify more borrowing, warning this could worsen Nigeria’s fiscal vulnerability.
“Until this government rebases its thinking,” the ADC warned, “all the GDP recalibrations in the world will remain what they are; statistical seduction with no meaning for ordinary Nigerians.”
