Nigerians put purchases of houses and vehicles on hold, Atiku criticizes Tinubu over soaring living expenses

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu, citing the latest Central Bank of Nigeria Household Expectations Survey as evidence of their failure, with citizens increasingly unable to afford basic assets like homes and cars.

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The survey's findings, which include buying conditions of 28.7 points for motor vehicles, 28.9 for consumer durables, and 30.0 for buildings and landed property, have been seized upon by Atiku as a damning indictment of the government's economic record.

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Atiku's Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, issued a statement on Friday in Abuja, in which Atiku argued that the CBN's own data has exposed the hollowness of the government's economic claims, with willingness to purchase vehicles and buildings and landed property standing at just 18.7 and 19.2 points respectively.

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According to Atiku, these figures are not the product of opposition spin, but rather the sobering verdict of Nigerian households, as captured by the Central Bank under President Tinubu's own administration.

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Atiku claimed that the data shows Nigerians are being priced out of a decent standard of living, with even basic necessities like food and transportation becoming unaffordable, and assets like homes and cars becoming increasingly out of reach.

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Families, Atiku argued, are being forced to exhaust their incomes on essential expenses, leaving them with little or no scope for savings, investment, or asset acquisition, with the result that a home is "becoming a fantasy" and a car "becoming a luxury".

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Citing the latest SBM Jollof Index, Atiku noted that the cost of ingredients for a single pot of jollof rice for a family of five has risen to an average of ₦29,578, a sum that would account for over 40 per cent of a minimum wage earner's monthly salary.

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Atiku accused President Tinubu of not only making life more expensive, but also of steadily pricing ordinary Nigerians out of the basic necessities of life, including food, comfort, and dignity.

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He criticized the Tinubu administration for celebrating headline macroeconomic indicators while the personal economies of Nigerian families continue to deteriorate, arguing that government officials are out of touch with the harsh realities faced by ordinary people.

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Atiku warned that the collapse in household purchasing power poses a significant threat to the wider economy, as citizens' inability to consume will have a ripple effect on businesses, production, and employment.

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He argued that a successful economy is not one that is measured by favourable statistics, but rather one in which citizens can work, earn, eat, save, invest, and improve their standard of living, and that President Tinubu's focus on "PowerPoint economics" is misguided.

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Atiku insisted that the real economy is the one that operates in the pocket of the Nigerian family, and that this pocket is increasingly empty, with the result that the cost of living is not the only thing that has increased, but also the cost of dreaming.