* Says it lied on revenue target claims
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of deceiving Nigerians with false revenue claims, citing a N21.22 trillion shortfall between the 2025 budget projection and actual collections, despite the government’s claim of meeting revenue targets.
The party also condemned the new 5% petrol tax and the 300% hike in passport fees, calling them cruel policies that punish struggling Nigerians and push more people into poverty, while the government celebrates revenue collection.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Thursday, ADC questioned why the government has continued to borrow despite its claims of record revenue.
They dismissed the “self-congratulatory” claims by President Tinubu regarding the so-called record-breaking revenue growth. The party said that while President Tinubu and his government parade statistics and issue grand statements, the reality on the streets tells a story of hardship and suffering across the country.
ADC called on Nigerians to recall that “when the 2025 budget was passed, it projected a total revenue of N41.81 trillion. Yet today, the Federal Government is celebrating the mobilization of N20.59 trillion, leaving a shortfall of N21.22 trillion. To put this in perspective, this would mean an average revenue of N3.48 trillion per month, totaling N27.87 trillion for the first eight months. Is the government then claiming to have surpassed N27.87 trillion, or even more incredibly, the full N41.81 trillion projection?
“The Federal Government only receives 52.68% of statutory revenue, and its share of VAT is just 15%. So, even under the most optimistic assumptions, the numbers being paraded are unrealistic. When measured on a pro-rata basis for January to August or against the full-year target, the shortfall becomes even more evident. This exposes the hollowness of the government’s claims and reveals these so-called revenue achievements as mere propaganda by APC and President Tinubu”.
The ADC described as false the claims by the Presidency on the exchange rate when it stated that when Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023, the dollar-to-naira rate was N1,900 to a dollar, and that it is now N1,450.
According to the coalition party, “a simple Google search shows that on the morning President Tinubu was sworn in, the naira traded at approximately N460.72 to the US dollar, and between N700 and N800 in the parallel market. The reality is that under President Tinubu’s watch, the naira has lost more than 50% of its value, wiping out savings and leaving ordinary Nigerians to bear the brunt through skyrocketing food prices, soaring rents, and high transport costs.”
