Tinubu’s $1bn Social Protection Fund Is Reaction to Atiku’s Subsidy Proposal – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the Federal Government’s proposed $1 billion social protection programme as a reaction to its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s plan for a targeted production subsidy to ease Nigeria’s rising cost of living.

The opposition party said the programme came after three years of economic hardship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration and as the country moved closer to the elections.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Thursday, August 27, the ADC questioned why the government failed to provide similar support while Nigerians grappled with soaring food and transport costs and declining purchasing power.

“We find this sudden discovery of compassion, and money, quite remarkable,” the party said.

“For three years, Nigerians have cried under the weight of food prices, transport costs and collapsing purchasing power, while this government insisted that there was no money to cushion the effects of its reforms. Now that elections are approaching, it has suddenly found $1 billion for the poor.”

The Federal Government announced the social protection programme, which First Lady Oluremi Tinubu unveiled.

The ADC argued that the initiative amounted to an admission that the administration’s economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy, had worsened hardship for millions of Nigerians.

According to the party, Atiku had already proposed a targeted production subsidy as part of his plan to reduce the cost of living, but government officials rejected the idea of subsidies.

“This is precisely what our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has been saying in proposing a targeted production subsidy to bring down the cost of living,” the ADC said.

“The government dismissed that proposal and its officials told Nigerians that subsidy, in whatever form, was impossible. Yet, almost immediately, it has announced a billion-dollar programme to support Nigerians from the consequences of its evil policies.”

The party also questioned the administration’s handling of previous social intervention funds, citing the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs’ claim that the government had disbursed more than ₦600 billion in cash transfers to over 10 million households in the past three years.

“What evidence exists of actual beneficiaries, and what measurable impact did that N600 billion have?” the party asked.

“Have these numbers ever been independently verified?”

The ADC further questioned the reported ₦40,000 “shock-response payment” for families, saying the programme’s timing and political purpose required scrutiny.

“A government whose so-called reform has destroyed purchasing power through higher food, fuel, transport and energy costs, cannot now return with a one-off ₦40,000 per family, which it cynically tagged ‘shock-response payment.’ This makes one to wonder if this is not indeed a vote-buying programme.”

The opposition party also demanded clarity over the First Lady’s role in unveiling the programme and called on the Federal Government to disclose the source of the $1 billion fund, the institution responsible for its management and the approval process behind it.

“One billion dollars is public business, and public business requires transparency,” the party said.

The ADC said it supported genuine efforts to assist vulnerable Nigerians but argued that the government should pursue policies that increase production, restore purchasing power and improve living conditions rather than rely on palliatives.

“The real choice before Nigerians is becoming clearer every day: between a government that is content on managing poverty and an alternative determined to restore purchasing power, production and dignity,” the statement added.

The party maintained that the new social protection programme showed that the government had finally acknowledged the need to protect citizens from the impact of its economic reforms.

“If the Tinubu administration has suddenly discovered that Nigerians need protection from the cost of its failed reforms, then perhaps the first thing it should do is admit that Atiku was right: reform without relief is not courage; it is cruelty,” the ADC said.