The Midterm Report shows that every human development and sociopolitical index has regressed since the coming to office of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, turning the promise of renewed hope to a nightmare of regressing hopelessness and despair.
Rather than take full responsibility for the unmitigated sufferings inflicted on Nigerians in the past two years on account of its wrong policy choices and wasteful spending, the Tinubu administration has engaged in massive propaganda claiming false successes and shifting blames to global and historical factors, and showing scant empathy for ordinary Nigerians.
Basically, due to unforced errors, especially the oversight of the production element of subsidies and floating the Naira, without any preparation to cushion the predictable impact, the Tinubu Economic Reforms has turned out to be Tinubu Economic Deforms.
- Titanic crash in Domestic Production – Our GDP (Gross Domestic Production) crashes to $188.27 billion, according to IMF 2025 projections, from the $363.8 billion left behind by President Buhari, who brought it down from $574 billion that it was under President Jonathan, according to World Bank statistics. According to National Economic Summit Group, over 7 million businesses have closed down since 2023.
- Astronomical rise in Public debt : In spite of the phenomenonal rise in public revenue from subsidy withdrawals and massive devaluation of the Naira, the Nigerian public debt has increased by over N100 trillion in just two years. Specifically, as reported by Debt Management Office, Public Debt shot up from N87.91 trillion left behind in 2023 by President Buhari administration, to N187.79 trillion projected for 2025. This is in stark contrast to the debt that was just N12 trillion before APC came to power in 2015. In dollar terms, our debt rose from $108.23 billion in 2023 to $142.47 billion in 2025, despite cutting subsidies.
- Horrific increase in Poverty: According to the World Bank in May 2025, the poverty rate has increased from 38.9% in 2023 to now over 54% poverty rate, with over 75.5% of rural dwellers now living below the poverty line. Our GDP per capital also fell by 75% from $3,222.7 in 2014 to $1,637.47 under Buhari and now a mere $806 in 2025. According to the IMF, this is a stark indication of Nigeria experiencing shrinking prosperity and complicating poverty crisis. In absolute figures, the people living in poverty increased from 87 million to over 130 million people, with 13 million more people falling into poverty in 2025. About 33 million face starvation to death.
- Housing Crisis : About 30 million are without a roof over their head, while 108 million live in substandard housing according to Development Aid statistics. The Tinubu administration budgeted for the provision of a mere 20,000 houses in 2025, despite our population increase being over 6 million people (nearly 20,000 a day) in 2025. At 20,000 homes a year, it would take a thousand years for everyone to have a roof over their head.
- A Prebendal and Government for the privileged and connected: Despite the Tinubu administration’s economic policies causing huge inflation that cut real wages in over half, only 4.1% of the Nigeria population in the civil service had their wages increased by 38%. Reliance on unproven channels for the distribution of pitiable halfhearted food and other palliatives were corruptly split among those connected, while uncontested mega projects were brazenly given to those with well known connections to the President. It is obvious that the Tinubu administration has no intention of delivering the greatest good the greatest number of Nigerians.
- Unabashedly profligate government: Two years into its tenure, and contrary to its well advertised electoral promise, the Tinubu administration is yet to implement Oronsaye Report to cut cost of governance, instead the costs have ballooned with new cost centers for cronies to milk. The tone of government at all levels is one of profligate ‘jaiye jaiye’ lifestyle, while the masses are being berated about Nigeria’s wasteful past and the imperative of sacrifice to restore fiscal integrity. The government’s first supplementary budget and subsequent budgets were spent on not only preserving but increasing the luxurious lifestyle of those in government – new Presidential jet, Cadillac limousines, N160 million cars for each federal legislator and scandalous increase in unaccounted constituency projects worth billions to each legislator.
- Increase in insecurity : In the quest for absolute power, the Tinubu administration is trading off lives of Nigerians by refusing to devolve power for state police. Across Nigeria, there is a resurgence in the activities of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents. According to Amnesty International, in two years of Tinubu over 10,000 people have been killed and nearly a 1000 villages destroyed, while two new terrorist groups have evolved. The failure to treat this as an emergency to devolve power to enable states create state police places responsibility, if not culpability, for all lives lost since 2023 at the feet of the President. In addition to personal physical insecurity, there is food insecurity as rural dwellers run for dear life from foreign herders and now itinerant ”hunters”.
- Destructuring democratic federalism – The Tinubu administration is actually Destructuring instead of Restructuring the military imposed constitution, towards true federalism. It has shown increasingly centralizing tendencies to further weaken the federalist elements in the constitution by attacking federating units with the takeover of their administrative units, known as local governments. Tinubu is destructuring the pillars of our democracy by neutralizing the legislature and judiciary put in place for balance of power and robust representative governance. It is obvious that the agenda is a one party state totalitarianism.
- Dictatorial Tendencies and the Road to One Party State – In the last two years, we have witnessed a markedly increase in intolerance of protests by dissenting civic groups. Peaceful protesters, students and labour groups are hounded, destabilized and bullied. In recent times, we have seen a gale of opposition politicians decamp to the ruling party to prevent institutional victimization. Even government sponsorship of internal conflicts in opposition parties and sociopolitical groups are in open. Some recent appointments to Independent National Electoral Commission are speculated to be card-carrying members of the ruling party. The emasculation of liberal democratic values are flagrantly displayed, without any shame or restraint.
Summary : It has been a harrowing experience living through the pain and anguish of the last two years, inflicted on the nation by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This Midterm Report is a duty that AFENIFERE – the Welfarist Political Organisation established by Obafemi Awolowo and his associates in 1951 and now under the Leadership of Oba Oladipo Olaitan, its 6th Leader – must fulfil to prevent government propagandists from drowning the voices of millions of hungry and deprived Nigerians.
Rather than focusing on service delivery, the Tinubu administration is focusing on winning the 2027 election regardless of the voters. No amount of propaganda will erase hunger and poverty in the land. Only selfless and empathetic leadership can serve the people, not Prebendalist and hedonistic lifestyle. If this Midterm Report was an academic exercise, the student will receive an Advice to Withdraw from the examiner, but we believe there is still room for redemption. We urge the President and his Choir of Mandate seekersto reflect and for a change just love Nigeria and Nigerians.
HRH Oba Oladipo Olaitan Afenifere Leader
Prince Justice Faloye Afenifere National Publicity Secretary
