As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu marks his second year in office, the EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos State has issued a scathing critique of his administration, describing it as a “disaster for the majority of Nigerians.”
The group condemned what it termed the government’s “anti-poor and neo-liberal reforms,” which, according to them, have devastated livelihoods and further weakened the nation’s struggling economy.
The naira has also sharply depreciated, falling from N463 to $1 in early May 2023 to nearly N1,600 to $1 as of April 2025. Within the same period, the headline inflation rate rose from 23% in April 2023 to 35% in December 2024 — the highest in the last three decades.
In a joint statement released on Thursday by the Organising Committee of the #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos State, Hassan Taiwo Soweto and Oloye Adegboyega-Adeniji stated that on the same score, food prices are now over 80% higher than when the election was held.
They explained that another consequence of Tinubu’s two-year presidency is the asphyxiation of the national economy. Due to the adverse effects of fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation, several multinational companies have relocated out of the country, while others have shut down operations.
They alleged that under Tinubu, Nigerians are living more or less like enslaved citizens. According to them, all the constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms that once inspired struggles against military rule and for democracy have now been completely eroded. The civic space has shrunk to the point that Nigerians can no longer breathe.
They noted that several activists, bloggers, and journalists are being routinely harassed, attacked, arrested, and prosecuted simply for exercising their freedom of speech.
They added that protests have effectively been criminalised and treated as a treasonable offence.
They also noted that kidnapping, banditry, and various forms of violence have become the order of the day.
The statement read, “Without equivocation, we have to say that the past two years of President Tinubu’s government have been nothing short of a disaster for the mass of Nigerian people. The anti-poor and neo-liberal reforms of the regime have led to the destruction of livelihoods and the economy on a scale previously unimagined.
“For example, the pump price of petrol which Tinubu met at N197 per litre when he came to power on May 29, 2023 now hovers around N800 to N900 per litre – a marginal drop from its peak of around N1,100 per litre last year. The naira has also sharply depreciated from N463/$1 in early May 2023 to nearly N1600/$1 as at April 2025. Within the same period, headline inflation rate rose from 23% in April 2023 to 35% in December 2024 – the highest in the last three decades!
The group noted that tens of thousands of people have died in Northeast Nigeria due to the Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency, while over two million people have been displaced.
It said, “No doubt, all the above are the painful consequences of the IMF/World Bank neoliberal reforms, otherwise known as the Renewed Hope Agenda, that President Tinubu chose to implement as soon as he took power. In implementing these policies, Tinubu and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) had promised that they would lead to prosperity for Nigeria.
“Two years after, none of the promises has materialised. Instead, the neo-liberal reforms have resulted in greater inequality, hunger and deepening poverty. From renewed hope, the Nigerian people have now been pushed into a state of renewed hopelessness and mass misery.”
“However, we have to say that these brutal results are not in any way surprising. Since the 1980s, the Nigerian people have become well aware that any IMF/World Bank reform often ends up in the destruction of national economies and impoverishment of the people,” the organisation stressed.
They said at no time did the Nigerian people ever agree with President Tinubu on this ruinous IMF/World Bank agenda.
The group said, “Recall that right from May 29, 2023 when these neo-liberal reforms were pronounced, the Nigerian people resoundingly rejected them.
“So, these economic reforms were imposed by President Tinubu on a helpless nation. In fact, the imposition of the policy of oil subsidy removal and petrol price hike was President Tinubu’s first act of dictatorship. In August last year, tens of thousands of Nigerian people trooped out to the street nationwide for 10 days to also reject these policies.
“Today, on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of the Tinubu regime, we owe it to ourselves and the Nigerian people to continue to reject these policies because they have failed. Indeed, we hereby reaffirm the rejection of these criminal IMF/World Bank anti-people policies which are impoverishing our people while destroying the national economy and pledge to continue the resistance against it.
“Please note that the June 12 action is the continuation of our long-term resistance against the criminal IMF/World Bank policies of this administration. Therefore, more actions should be expected even after. We shall also intensify discussions with progressive groups and organisations in order to extend the resistance nationwide.”
However, they demanded a reversal of the hike in fuel prices and electricity tariffs to the rates prior to May 29, 2023. They also called for an end to hunger by reducing food prices and increasing public investment in agriculture, as well as ensuring adequate security for farmers.
They called for the reversal of fuel subsidy removal, the privatisation of electricity, and an end to all IMF/World Bank policies. They demanded a real living wage now.
They urged that all political officeholders be paid the wage of a skilled worker and called for the scrapping of security votes and constituency allowances.
