The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has blamed the exit of global ride-hailing company Uber from Nigeria, as well as the shutdown or scaling down of operations by several major international companies, on what it described as the failure of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies.
The party said Uber’s exit after 12 years in Nigeria reflected what it described as the increasingly difficult operating environment facing businesses, particularly rising energy and transportation costs.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, ADC said the growing number of businesses leaving Nigeria, shutting down or reducing their operations indicated, in the party’s view, a worsening business environment and declining confidence in the government’s economic policies.
According to the opposition party, the trend also exposed what it described as a widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the realities facing businesses and ordinary Nigerians.
The ADC said it was particularly concerned that the government was celebrating a 0.2 percentage-point improvement in gross domestic product (GDP) at a time when, according to the party, businesses were closing, jobs were being lost and millions of Nigerians were struggling with rising living costs.
“Certainly, a 0.2% growth does not justify the extreme hardship that Nigerians are suffering,” the party said, claiming that Nigeria’s poverty rate had risen to 63 per cent, affecting an estimated 140 million people.
The ADC challenged President Tinubu to explain the significance of the 0.2 per cent GDP growth to Nigerians who, it claimed, had been pushed into poverty since he assumed office, as well as workers whose salaries had lost value and businesses struggling with high energy costs.
The party said, “When the President and his party say things are getting better, we expect them to tell us what has improved in the lives of Nigerians. They should tell us how much food their ‘GDP growth’ has put on the tables. They should tell us which bill it has paid. If 0.2% is a mark of success in their books, President Tinubu and APC should tell us what they consider as failure.”
The party further claimed that fuel prices had risen by as much as 1,700 per cent following the removal of fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, which it said had increased transportation and production costs.
“This is precisely why the ADC Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has proposed the restoration of a targeted fuel subsidy to bring down the cost of fuel, transportation and production,” the party said.
The ADC also referred to an earlier report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, which it said showed that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 major global brands, had shut down or ceased operations in the country, while hundreds of others were distressed since Tinubu assumed office.
The party said, “Microsoft, Jumia, Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PZ Cussons are among the companies that have shut down or scaled down their operations in Nigeria.”
The ADC also questioned the government’s claim that the economy was improving, arguing that continued business closures and the relocation of companies suggested otherwise.
“Therefore, when the President announces that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wonder which corner he is talking about. If indeed the economy is improving, or the slightest hope exists in the minds of those who run these businesses that this APC government can improve the economy, why are they closing shop and moving elsewhere?” the party asked.