“The Economy Is Fine”: APC Voices Are Singing Nigeria’s Prosperity, But Who Is Really Eating? -By Isaac Asabor

If you listened only to the loudest voices around the corridors of power, you would think Nigeria had already crossed the river. The economy, we are told, has “turned the corner,” “passed the darkest tunnel,” and is now “stabilized.” The chorus is led by the president and his party, and it has drawn in governors, senators, legislators and spokesmen. Whether they are right matters far more than how confident they sound.

President Bola Tinubu himself has said repeatedly that the economy is stabilized, crediting the removal of the fuel subsidy and exchange rate reforms. His spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has said he can list more than 100 gains from the reforms, described critics as uninformed and politically motivated, and claimed Tinubu “took the bullets” to rescue Nigeria from fiscal collapse.

The party has followed the same line. APC spokesman Felix Morka has said every relevant economic marker shows strong macroeconomic foundations, and the party has hailed global recognition of the reforms.

In May 2026, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, told the president the governors had scored his performance 100 per cent. He has also said that, despite obvious economic challenges, the APC has done very well for Nigerians.

Former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje has pointed to lower food prices, cheaper petrol and a stronger naira as outcomes of the reforms. Vice President Kashim Shettima has described the hardship as short-term and the reforms as a strategic investment.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said the administration inherited an economy in shambles and has delivered significant achievements, adding that opposition figures know this but will not admit it. Rep. Akin Alabi has said anyone who understands the economy knows it is on track, and has mocked opponents who ask about the price of garri as practitioners of “beer parlour politics.”

Alabi’s remark deserves attention. The price of garri is not beer parlour politics. It is how most Nigerians experience the economy. For a trader, a civil servant or a young graduate, the price of food, transport, rent and school fees is the economy.

This is where the boasting runs into trouble. Macroeconomic indicators, investor confidence and stock market performance matter, but they are not the same as a household’s well-being. The same report that carried the governors’ 100 per cent rating also noted widespread criticism over the rising cost of living and reports that the reforms have pushed more Nigerians into poverty.

Many of the people declaring victory occupy the most insulated positions in the country. A governor, a senator or a presidential aide does not feel a rise in petrol, transport or food prices the way a salaried worker or petty trader does.

Add the City Boy culture of expensive cars, lavish events and holidays abroad, much of it linked to proximity to power, and the picture grows more distorted. Social media shows selected lives, not the full society. We see the wedding but not the debt behind it. The success of a few cannot disprove the struggles of many.

In fact, the plea, “Bear with us” is not an economic policy. The standard defence is that the pain is temporary and the gains will come. It is fair to accept that difficult reforms involve difficult transitions. But nobody can be asked to take on faith what they cannot feel in their pockets. A government that asks for patience owes citizens evidence in return: falling prices they can feel, wages that buy more, jobs that exist.

Without any iota of exaggeration, Nigerians are resilient, but resilience is not proof that all is well. Coping is not progress.

Given the backdrop of the foregoing view, one cannot but opine that APC affiliates should let the evidence Speak. If the government is right, the proof will show where it counts: Can more people afford nutritious food? Are real wages rising faster than prices?  Are stable jobs easier to find? Can small businesses survive and expand? Are fewer people falling into poverty?

Some of these may be improving, and credit is due where it is earned. But the case must rest on independent data on inflation, employment, real income and poverty, not on assertions from podiums and campaign visits. As 2027 approaches, praise from loyalists is expected. Unfortunately, it is not evidence.

There is nothing wrong with a government defending its record. Opposition figures have their own interests, and their criticism should be tested too.

But when the people who benefit most from the system tell those who struggle most that everything is fine, the right response is scrutiny. A country is not doing well because its leaders say so, or because the well-connected are smiling. It is doing well when the trader, the teacher, the graduate and the farmer can say so too.