President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has blamed opposition parties for the hunger and poverty facing Nigerians, insisting that his administration is working to overcome the country’s economic challenges as he formally launched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign for the 2027 general election.
Tinubu made the remarks on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at the party’s campaign flag-off rally in Kaduna, where he appealed to voters to renew his mandate for a second term.
Addressing party leaders, supporters and political stakeholders, the President accused his opponents of focusing on criticism rather than presenting credible alternatives to his administration’s policies.
“I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created hunger. They created poverty. We are trying to eradicate it,” he said.
The President maintained that his administration was pursuing policies intended to improve economic conditions, expand opportunities and establish a foundation for sustained national development.
He described his government’s agenda as one centred on prosperity, growth, recovery and opportunity, expressing confidence that Nigerians would benefit from the continuation of his policies.
Tinubu also appealed to supporters to vote for APC candidates at every level of government, including the presidency, governorships, the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.
He argued that the party needed a strong electoral mandate across the country to consolidate its programmes and sustain its development agenda.
The President commended APC governors for their performance, particularly their efforts to execute development projects and meet salary obligations to public-sector workers.
He cited the payment of salaries by state governments as evidence of what he described as progress under the current administration.
“We pay salaries regularly. Our governors are working. I am proud of them. They are developing,” Tinubu said.
The President’s remarks come amid continuing public debate over the effects of his administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of petrol subsidies and changes to the foreign exchange regime.
While the government has defended the reforms as necessary to improve public finances and encourage investment, many households continue to face pressure from high living costs, including the cost of food, transport and energy.
The economic situation has become a major issue in the emerging contest for the 2027 presidency, with opposition politicians questioning whether the administration’s policies have delivered sufficient relief to ordinary Nigerians.
Tinubu, however, urged voters not to accept what he described as misleading narratives from his political opponents, arguing that his administration should be judged on its policies and development record.
He also defended the removal of petrol subsidies, declaring that the previous system had been associated with corruption, falsified invoices and fuel smuggling.
“Fuel subsidy is in our past. No more corruption, no more falsification of invoices, no more lies, no more smuggling of fuel,” he said.
The President’s comments underscore the central role economic policy is expected to play in the 2027 election, with the APC seeking to persuade voters that continued reforms will eventually translate into improved living standards.
However, his assertion that opposition parties created hunger and poverty is a political claim, rather than an independently established explanation of Nigeria’s economic difficulties.
The campaign now places the ruling party’s record, its promises of economic recovery and the opposition’s proposed alternatives at the centre of the contest for public support.