Atiku: 2025 among Nigeria’s most punishing years

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described 2025 as one of the most difficult and punishing years in Nigeria’s recent history, blaming widespread economic hardship, worsening insecurity and what he termed a lack of empathy in governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Atiku made the remarks in his New Year message to Nigerians as the country ushered in 2026, warning that although the year has ended, millions of citizens remain weighed down by hunger, unemployment, business closures and insecurity — challenges he said reflect deep policy and governance failures.

The former Vice President, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, said Nigerians survived 2025 not because of effective leadership, but due to their resilience in the face of mounting adversity.

“For millions of long-suffering Nigerians, the only consolation is that 2025, one of the most punishing years in our recent history, has come to an end,” Atiku said.

“It was a year defined by economic suffocation, political recklessness and governance without empathy under the All Progressives Congress administration.”

He accused the APC-led government of economic mismanagement, policy inconsistency and political recklessness throughout the year.

According to him, the Tinubu administration governed for several months without a functional budget, relied excessively on borrowing and attempted to mask economic distress with what he described as propaganda, pushing the country toward the brink of economic collapse.

Atiku said unemployment and underemployment worsened in 2025, while labour unrest, industrial shutdowns and the collapse of small and medium-sized businesses became widespread, despite repeated official assurances of economic recovery.

“Industries shut down, workers lost their jobs, and hunger became a daily reality for many households, while citizens were continually told to make sacrifices,” he said.

The former Vice President also highlighted the controversy surrounding the alleged alteration of Nigeria’s tax laws, describing it as emblematic of what he called a broader decay in governance and respect for the rule of law.

READ ALSO: Atiku demands fresh legislative process for Tinubu’s tax laws amid alteration controversy

He referred to the episode as a “forged tax law” presented as reform, criticising President Tinubu’s alleged refusal to allow due legislative and legal processes to resolve the matter.

“A government that begins reform with forgery cannot end with prosperity,” Atiku said, warning that disregard for due process undermines investor confidence, economic stability and democratic norms.

The tax law issue has generated debate within the National Assembly and among policy experts, with concerns raised over discrepancies between bills passed by lawmakers and versions later gazetted.

On security, Atiku said the situation deteriorated significantly in 2025, with kidnappings, abductions and violent crimes affecting communities across the country. He lamented that lives were lost and livelihoods destroyed, while government assurances failed to produce tangible improvements in public safety.

He also criticised the country’s rising public debt, arguing that despite government claims of meeting revenue targets, heavy borrowing continued, placing an unsustainable fiscal burden on future generations.

Atiku further accused the APC of weakening Nigeria’s democratic foundations by intimidating opposition voices and pursuing what he described as a strategy to turn the country into a de facto one-party state.

According to him, democracy still provides Nigerians with a peaceful avenue to change a failing government through the ballot box.

In his message, Tinubu said Nigeria ended the year on a strong note, citing robust quarterly GDP growth with annualised growth projected to exceed four per cent.

He also pointed to sustained trade surpluses and improved exchange rate stability despite policies aimed at curbing inflation.

The President further highlighted developments in the capital market, noting that the Nigerian Stock Exchange recorded a 48.12 percent gain in 2025, extending a bullish trend that began in the second half of 2023.