PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Ibe / Facebook via The Sun Nigeria
GDP Growth Celebrations Don’t Match Market Realities, Atiku’s Aide Slams Tinubu Govt

Media Adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has taken a swipe at the Bola Tinubu administration, accusing it of hiding behind macroeconomic figures while Nigerians battle worsening cost of living.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Ibe said the government has continued to tout GDP growth, rising revenues, trade surplus and foreign reserves as evidence that its economic reforms – dubbed ‘Tinubunomics’ – are yielding results.

According to him, those statistics do not capture the everyday experience of Nigerians.

“Nigerians don’t live inside GDP tables. They live in the market. And the market is telling a very different story,” Ibe said.

He compared current market prices with data from May 2023 when the administration took over. Citing National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures, he noted that petrol which sold for an average of N238.11 per litre in May 2023 now sells for around N1,280 to N1,350 per litre in many filling stations.

Ibe also pointed out that while headline inflation has dropped from 22.41% in May 2023 to 15.43% in July 2026 according to NBS, the decline is partly due to the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index and GDP. He stressed that prices are still rising, though at a slower pace, with food inflation at 20.31% in July 2026.

Using rice as an example, he said a kilogram of locally sold rice which cost about N555 in May 2023 had jumped to N1,608.89 by May 2024.

On wages, Ibe acknowledged that the national minimum wage was increased from N30,000 to N70,000 – a 133% increase – but argued that the gain has been wiped out by faster increases in food, transport and housing costs.

He also highlighted the sharp depreciation of the naira, which traded around N461/$ on May 29, 2023, but now exchanges at about N1,320 – N1,330 officially, with higher rates on the parallel market.

Ibe further cited World Bank estimates that about 63% of Nigerians lived below the national poverty line in 2025, with an additional seven million people pushed into poverty that year.

“Economic growth matters. But GDP is a means, not the end,” he said, adding that the real test is whether Nigerians can afford food, rent, transport, school fees and medicine, and whether small businesses can stay afloat.

“Nigerians don’t eat GDP no matter how delicious it may be. They don’t spend trade statistics at the market. They don’t pay their children’s school fees with foreign reserves. They don’t cook with economic growth,” he stated.

He concluded that the government should focus on whether the average Nigerian is better able to live, eat, work and provide for his family today than on May 29, 2023, rather than celebrating positive statistics.
SOURCE: The Sun Nigeria