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By Myke Agunwa
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 improved revenue collection.
The party 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.
“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 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 details of its purpose, raising the national debt to $120 billion or N180 trillion—the highest in Nigeria’s history.”
The statement alleged that instead of improving lives, this government has chosen to punish the people it was elected to serve through policies that claim economic progress while condemning the majority to poverty. “Despite claims of economic stability, Nigeria remains the poverty capital of the world. This fact alone should humble any serious government. Instead, the Tinubu administration has preferred to deepen the suffering, as shown by the recent 5% petrol tax” the party stated.
The ADC said that it finds the tax cruel and deeply insensitive, especially when most Nigerians are still feeling the effects of fuel subsidy removal. “Regardless of the motives, it’s clear this government does not care about the people. Nigerians deserve support to cope with subsidy removal, not additional taxes that increase their burden.
“Adding to the hardship, the government has increased the cost of obtaining a Nigerian international passport by 300%, making it among the most expensive globally. In the UK, a passport costs just 5% of the minimum monthly wage. In Nigeria, it now costs 143% of the minimum wage.
“This is what governance has become under President Tinubu: taxing people’s survival, monetizing hardship, and celebrating suffering as achievement. From fuel taxes to passport fees, every policy seems aimed at pushing Nigerians into deeper poverty while a privileged few enjoy excess” ADC lamented.
It argued that “a government that continuously takes from the people while lying to them is not governing; it is exploiting”.