Atiku Says Purchasing Power Is Destroyed, And The Data Is Split
Lagos · Monday 7 September 2026
Atiku Abubakar has accused President Tinubu of destroying Nigerians' purchasing power through his economic policies. The government's answer is that inflation has now fallen for two consecutive months. Both statements are supported by published figures, which is the whole problem.
The two numbers moving in opposite directions
| Measure | June 2026 | July 2026 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline inflation, year on year | 15.91% | 15.43% | Falling |
| Food inflation, year on year | 17.52% | 20.31% | Rising |
| Food inflation, month on month | 3.75% | 5.56% | Rising sharply |
National Bureau of Statistics. August headline inflation is projected around 14.82%.
Why the headline number keeps falling
Two reasons, and neither of them is groceries. Domestic energy costs have come down, and the naira has appreciated modestly with the parallel market premium narrowing. Both feed directly into the transport and imported-goods components of the basket.
That is a real improvement and it is the government's strongest economic argument. It is also almost invisible to a household whose spending is dominated by food.
What actually rose in July
The NBS attributes the month-on-month food jump to crayfish, pepper, onions, tomatoes, rice, garri and beef. That is not a list of luxuries. It is close to a description of what a Nigerian family eats.
Purchasing power is not measured by the index. It is measured by what one day's wages buys at the market, and for food that number went the wrong way in July.
Where the argument goes from here
Atiku's claim is that the reforms transferred cost onto households. The government's claim is that the reforms are now working and the trend proves it. The honest reading is that the fiscal position improved, the headline index is genuinely easing, and the food component, which is the part people experience, has not followed.
The campaign will run for months on these two numbers. Anyone quoting only one of them is telling you which side they are on rather than what is happening.
Reporting: BusinessDay, allAfrica, Ripples Nigeria and National Bureau of Statistics releases.
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