Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, has sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his 2026 Independence Day message, declaring that Nigerians can barely afford to live under his administration.
In a State of the Nation address delivered on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at the ADC headquarters in Abuja, Atiku said Tinubu's reforms have deepened hardship, with food, fuel and transport costs outpacing what many Nigerians can afford.
Atiku's Independence Day Address
Atiku, who was Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, said that sixty-six years after independence, millions of Nigerians are fighting for things a free country should never put beyond their reach: food on the table, a wage that lasts the month, and a safe journey home.
He said the past three years under Tinubu have plunged Nigeria into the most severe cost of living crisis in its history. Families are skipping meals, delaying treatment and borrowing to survive until payday, he added.
Atiku said the government has asked Nigerians for more patience, more sacrifice and more faith in figures they cannot eat. He accused those in power of presiding over brazen waste and corruption while telling the people there is no money to ease their pain.
Fuel Subsidy and Economic Hardship
Atiku said Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy with one announcement and no credible protection in place for the families who would bear the shock. Petrol, transport and the cost of moving food rose, he said, and three years later, the pain has an address in every home.
He directly asked Tinubu: "Bola, where is the benefit?" Atiku said the nation is bleeding, with armed groups having killed thousands and driven families from their communities. Farmers fear their fields, parents fear for children in their classrooms, and families dread the call demanding ransom for someone they love.
Atiku said a government that cannot make life affordable and cannot protect life has failed the two tests that matter most to its people.
Tinubu's Prosperity Claims Challenged
Atiku noted that Tinubu told Nigerians that the "emergency treatment is over" and the "age of prosperity" has begun. He argued that a President may announce a new chapter in a speech, but cannot announce food onto a family's table or money into a worker's pocket.
He said a slower rise in prices does not restore what families have lost, and growth must improve lives. Atiku also challenged Tinubu's claim that inflation has fallen and that the government has more money while the people can afford less.
Atiku drew attention to the April 2023 minimum wage of ₦30,000, which could buy about 118 litres of petrol. Today, a ₦70,000 minimum wage buys just 50 litres, he said. The average price of one egg rose from about ₦88 in April 2023 to ₦261 in May 2026, and a sliced loaf was about ₦500 in April 2023, but by May 2026, the average was about ₦2,000 for a smaller loaf.
ADC's Proposal for Production Subsidy
Atiku said he will pursue a clear purpose: make life affordable again. He promised to introduce a capped, budgeted production subsidy tied to verified fuel refined in Nigeria, including fuel from modular refineries. Imported petrol will not qualify, and the benefit must reach consumers through lower pump prices.
He said the principle is simple: produce here, refine here, create jobs here and pay less here. Atiku also questioned Tinubu's promise of lower transport fares from October 1, saying commuters are still asking where they can find the lower fares.
Contract Awards and Debt Concerns
Atiku raised concerns about the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway contract awarded to Hitech, a Chagoury Group company, without an open public tender. He said the Chagourys' longstanding relationship with Tinubu is public knowledge, as are the reported business ties between his son Seyi and the family.
He said local contractors who completed government projects remain unpaid, with some having lost property and some reportedly dying under financial strain. Atiku asked why the President's friends get huge contracts while Nigerian contractors have to protest to be paid for work they have already done.
Atiku also noted that Nigeria's public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion at the end of June, with the government discussing another $1.5 billion in World Bank loans. He asked what the money already borrowed has delivered.
Cash Transfers and Niger Stampede
Atiku questioned the claim by the party chairman that more than 10 million Nigerians received ₦75,000 each in cash transfers—at least ₦750 billion in all. He asked how the government identified, contacted and paid beneficiaries, particularly in parts of Yobe and Borno where insecurity makes access difficult.
He also mourned the three people who died in a stampede at the Niger State Government House after a crowd gathered amid reports that ₦10,000 would be distributed. He said a mother, her daughter and another woman did not return home.
Political Freedom and Election Promises
Atiku called for the rule of law to be applied fairly in every case, raising questions about the continued detention of Sheikh Sani Khalifa Zaria and Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai. He also repeated his call for the release of five young Nigerians arrested in Borno after wearing "Tinubu Must Go" T-shirts.
He promised that if elected President, he will work to end election rigging, respect INEC's independence, support the prompt publication of results from every polling unit, and insist that anyone caught buying votes or changing results faces the law, even if that person belongs to his party.
Atiku concluded: "Bola, the Promised Land is not in sight merely because you can see it from the villa. Nigerians must be able to reach it. We have chosen a different course, peacefully and together, through the power of our votes; the message is clear: Tinubu must go."
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Tinubu on Thursday, October 1, 2026, reiterated the impact of his reforms in what would be his last Independence Day address before the 2027 elections. Tinubu likened Nigeria to a cancer patient when he assumed the reins in 2023, saying only painful treatment would have sufficed, and described opponents' proposals to restore energy subsidies as "regressive".
