Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, arguing that the country’s worsening hardship is the result of policies centred on borrowing, importation and taxation instead of production.
Atiku disclosed this in a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, where he argued that the country’s worsening economic hardship reflects years of policies that encouraged importation at the expense of local production.
Atiku maintained that Nigeria’s economic recovery depends on producing more food locally, expanding manufacturing and increasing exports rather than relying heavily on imported goods.
He said the current economic model has weakened local industries, reduced job opportunities and contributed to rising inflation across the country.
“Nigeria cannot borrow, import and tax its way to prosperity. The country’s economic salvation lies in producing what it eats, manufacturing what it uses and exporting what it makes,” Atiku said.
The presidential candidate argued that successive policies had rewarded consumption instead of production, leaving Nigeria dependent on foreign goods while local industries struggled to survive.
“For too long, we have celebrated importation while neglecting production. We import food that should be grown in our fields, goods that should be manufactured in our factories and even raw materials that ought to be processed by Nigerian hands. No nation has ever become prosperous by exporting jobs and importing poverty,” he stated.
Atiku cited rising food prices and declining industrial output as evidence of what he described as the failure of the current economic approach.
According
