The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has said the admission by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, that the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu contributed to worsening hardship in the country vindicated its position that the APC-led Federal Government had failed Nigerians.
The party expressed its views through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Abubakar Yusuf, in Abuja on Wednesday, following Bagudu’s remarks at the Federal Appointees Strategic Summit held in Abuja.
Yusuf said the minister’s admission that the administration did not anticipate the scale of turbulence that hit the global economy amounted to an acknowledgment of the government’s failure to adequately prepare for the consequences of its economic policies.
According to him, ‘Bagudu’s admission firmly vindicates our position that the Tinubu administration lacked the coherent economic blueprint, policy foresight and adequate safeguards required to manage a nation.’
The APM spokesman said it was ‘irresponsible’ for any government to embark on far-reaching economic policies without adequately assessing their consequences for citizens, noting that Nigerians had warned against the abrupt removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira and the imposition of taxes.
Yusuf noted, ‘Instead of listening to the voice of reason, the Tinubu administration embarked on an ego trip and chest-thumping that ended up ruining the economy and crippling the productive sector.’
He claimed that the policies had contributed to the departure of some multinational companies, the closure of businesses, rising cost of living and widespread unemployment, while millions of Nigerians struggled to afford food, medication and other basic necessities.
Yusuf also alleged that corruption and mismanagement of public resources had continued under the administration, arguing that the government’s economic policies had deepened multidimensional poverty across the country.
He said the administration’s acknowledgment of the difficulties caused by its policies should compel Tinubu to take responsibility, apologise to Nigerians and reconsider his bid for the 2027 presidential election.
‘The admission by Minister Bagudu firmly settles the fact that the Nigerian system requires a hard reset from the comatose situation it has been plunged into by the APC government,’ he stated, adding that Nigeria needed leadership with a clear economic blueprint, policy foresight and safeguards capable of protecting citizens from avoidable hardship while addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.
He said this was why the APM was presenting its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, as an alternative, claiming that Makinde had a development blueprint that could be replicated at the national level.
The party urged Nigerians to support Makinde, saying it would mobilise citizens ahead of the 2027 presidential election and seek to replace the APC-led government through the democratic process.
Speaking at the event, the minister admitted that the government did not fully anticipate the scale of the turbulence that followed the reforms, which was compounded by global uncertainties, geopolitical conflicts, food-price pressures and disruptions to international trade.
He also linked Nigeria’s hardship to external shocks, saying the administration was dealing with a wider global economic crisis that had worsened the cost of living.
The minister explained that the decision to remove the petrol subsidy and reform the foreign exchange market came against a backdrop of severe economic headwinds, adding that the government had not foreseen how deeply the global turbulence would affect Nigeria.
However, Bagudu maintained that the reforms were meant to strengthen fiscal capacity and support long-term stability and inclusive growth.