The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the rising cost of petrol and other essential commodities is pushing Nigerians “dangerously close to the limits of human endurance.”
The party said the reported increase in petrol prices to as much as N1,470 per litre had worsened the cost of living, with transportation, food, education, electricity and other basic necessities becoming increasingly unaffordable.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the Tinubu administration of implementing economic policies that had imposed excessive hardship on households, workers and businesses.
“President Tinubu has turned the petrol pump into an instrument of punishment for everyday Nigerians. Food, transportation, electricity, education, and everything Nigerians need to survive responds directly to the price of fuel and combine together to make life difficult for the majority of Nigerians,” the party said.
The ADC also expressed concern over reported increases in private school fees, saying some schools had raised tuition by between 30 and 40 per cent despite the absence of corresponding increases in workers’ incomes.
It argued that the development was another indication of the pressure being placed on Nigerian families by the rising cost of living.
“Parents are not earning 40 per cent more. Their salaries have not risen with the prices of fuel, food, rent, transportation, and school fees. Yet, at every turn, this government demands that already exhausted families pay more,” the party said.
However, the opposition party said it did not blame school proprietors for the increases, arguing that private schools were themselves facing higher operating costs arising from taxes, electricity bills, fuel, rent and staff salaries.
“Parents, workers, and businesses are all casualties of Tinubu and the APC’s economy,” it said.
The ADC described the current petrol price as a “Tinubu Tax,” alleging that the removal of fuel subsidy had transmitted additional costs across virtually every sector of the economy.
“At N1,470 per litre, petrol is no longer simply a commodity. It is Tinubu Tax, which has made life unbearable for the majority,” the party said.
According to the ADC, many families were now being forced to make difficult choices, including reducing food consumption, withdrawing children from school and delaying medical treatment, while some businesses were struggling to remain operational.
The party argued that the Federal Government could not continue to demand sacrifices from ordinary Nigerians while public officials were allegedly maintaining extravagant lifestyles with public resources.
“A reform that continuously makes the people poorer is not working. An economic policy that produces impressive figures at government briefings but hunger in Nigerian homes is a failure,” the party said.
It added that when parents were forced to choose between feeding their children and paying school fees, the government had failed in its basic responsibility.
The ADC said the 2027 general election would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to choose between continuing with what it described as the Tinubu administration’s economic hardship and the alternative economic programme proposed by its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
The party reiterated Atiku’s commitment to reducing petrol prices by restoring a form of subsidy targeted at supporting domestic fuel production.
According to the ADC, such a policy would help reduce transportation, food and production costs and provide relief to households and businesses.
“Unlike Tinubu and APC, we recognise that economic reform must serve the people, not sacrifice them,” it said.
The party maintained that Nigeria, as an oil-producing country, should not have citizens experiencing every visit to a filling station as an economic punishment.
The ADC also warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against interpreting Nigerians’ resilience in the face of economic hardship as acceptance of government policies.
It urged the President to take immediate measures to address the rising cost of living and ease the burden on households and businesses.
“Their resilience must not become an excuse for continued cruelty. Tinubu has had enough time and inflicted enough pain. The people are suffering, businesses are dying, and hope is becoming increasingly expensive.
“President Tinubu must act now. Don’t push Nigerians to their limits,” the party warned.
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