Opposition voices, from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to African Renaissance Movement (ARM) convener Aliyu Audu and former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, have accused President Tinubu’s government of celebrating revenue milestones while Nigerians endure hunger, inflation, and new taxes, branding its fiscal triumphs as cruelty over compassion.

The ADC knocked Tinubu’s administration for deceiving Nigerians with what it described as false claims of record revenue collection, warning that the government’s economic policies are worsening poverty across the country.

In a strongly worded statement issued yesterday in Abuja, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the government’s narrative of meeting revenue targets is contradicted by a gaping shortfall of N21.22 trillion between the 2025 budget projection and actual collections.

According to the ADC, while the Federal Government claims to have achieved historic revenue mobilisation, the figures do not align with budgetary expectations or the lived experiences of citizens battling inflation, high transport costs, and surging food prices.

“The African Democratic Congress challenges the self-congratulatory claims by President Tinubu regarding the so-called record-breaking revenue growth. 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,” the statement read.

The party noted that the 2025 budget projected a total revenue of N41.81 trillion. However, government is now celebrating the mobilisation of N20.59 trillion, leaving a shortfall of N21.22 trillion.

“Put in perspective, this would mean an average revenue of N3.48 trillion per month, totalling N27.87 trillion for the first eight months of the year. Is the government then claiming to have surpassed N27.87 trillion, or, even more incredulously, the full N41.81 trillion projection already? These figures simply do not add up,” the ADC said.

The opposition party further argued that not all the reported revenue accrues directly to the Federal Government, which only receives 52.68 per cent of statutory revenue and 15 per cent of VAT. It described the claims of revenue success as “another act in the APC and President Tinubu’s propaganda performance.”

The ADC also faulted the President’s statements on the naira–dollar exchange rate. “According to the ADC, the President also made laughable statements about the exchange rate, claiming that when he took office on May 29, 2023, the dollar-to-naira rate was N1,900 to a dollar, and that it is now N1,450. This is patently false. A simple Google search will show 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 party said.

The statement stressed that under Tinubu’s watch, the naira has lost more than 50 per cent of its value, eroding savings and worsening living costs.

On borrowing, the ADC said: “Another false claim by President Tinubu is that the government has stopped local borrowing. Only a few days ago, on August 26, 2025, the Debt Management Office announced that it raised N136.16 billion through a Federal Government bond auction.

“This is apart from the $21 billion loan hurriedly approved by the National Assembly in July without any details of its purpose, bringing the national debt stock to $120 billion or N180 trillion, the highest in Nigeria’s history. The question to ask is: if revenues are truly being met, why is this government still borrowing? The answer is simple; the revenue narrative is built on falsehood.”

The party condemned recent policies, particularly the newly introduced five per cent petrol tax and the 300 per cent hike in passport fees. It described both measures as “cruel and deeply insensitive,” especially at a time when Nigerians are still grappling with the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

“The ADC finds this tax cruel and deeply insensitive at a time when the majority of Nigerians are still reeling from the effects of fuel subsidy removal,” the statement said, adding that the passport fee hike has made Nigeria’s international travel document one of the most expensive in the world compared with income levels.