Uber Exit: Tinubu Has Turned Nigeria Into ‘Graveyard Of Businesses’ – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the reported exit of the global ride-hailing company, Uber, from Nigeria as another indication of what it called the increasingly hostile business environment under President Bola Tinubu.

The party said the departure of Uber, alongside the shutdown or scaling down of operations by several multinational companies, amounted to a “vote of no confidence” in the administration’s economic policies.

In a statement on Thursday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the trend exposed a widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the hardship faced by businesses and Nigerians.

The party questioned the significance of the reported 0.2 percentage-point improvement in economic growth when businesses were closing down, jobs disappearing and millions of Nigerians struggling with rising living costs.

“Certainly, a 0.2 per cent growth does not justify the extreme hardship that Nigerians are suffering,” the party said, adding that the government should explain what the growth had translated into for ordinary citizens.

The ADC said businesses were being squeezed by rising energy, transportation and production costs, which it attributed partly to the removal of the petrol subsidy and Naira devaluation.

It argued that Uber’s exit after 12 years in Nigeria was symptomatic of the difficult operating environment, noting that the cost of fuel had risen sharply since the Tinubu administration came into office.

The opposition party also cited figures it attributed to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), claiming that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 major global brands, had shut down or ceased operations, while hundreds of others were distressed.

It listed companies that had allegedly exited or scaled down their Nigerian operations to include Microsoft, Jumia, Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PZ Cussons.

The ADC said the departure of GSK after five decades of manufacturing in Nigeria was particularly significant.

“Therefore, when the President announces that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wonder which corner he is talking about,” the party said, challenging the administration to explain why businesses would leave if the economy was genuinely improving.

“The painful truth is that Tinubu has turned Nigeria into a graveyard of businesses,” the party declared, arguing that every business closure represented lost jobs, reduced investment and increased poverty.

The ADC also linked the rising cost of living to its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s proposal for a targeted fuel subsidy aimed at reducing fuel, transportation and production costs.

According to the party, lowering production costs would improve business profitability, stimulate investment and create jobs, while easing the pressure on households.

The ADC urged the Tinubu administration to measure economic progress not only through GDP figures but also by its impact on the purchasing power, employment prospects and living conditions of Nigerians.