Former Cross River Governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has accused President Bola Tinubu administration of worsening hardship and impoverishing Nigerians while benefiting financially from the policies.

Duke, in a statement on Saturday, said majority Nigerians were bearing the consequences of an economic direction which he said had failed to provide meaningful relief.

The former governor argued that the country could not afford to continue defending policies that deepen poverty rather than promote growth and improve livelihoods.

He noted that the recent exchanges between the Tinubu administration and leading opposition parties had convinced him that the President was not prepared to review or reverse what he described as anti-people policies.

“The ongoing exchanges between the Tinubu administration and the leading opposition parties is clear evidence that President Tinubu has no plans to review or change key anti-people policies that have become the hallmarks of his administration,” he said.

Duke particularly criticised the government’s handling of fuel subsidy, saying the current arrangement had simply replaced one problematic system with another.

“The fuel subsidy scam which had preceded the Tinubu administration has been replaced by the poorly-managed option which makes money for governments and impoverishes citizens and the economy,” he said.

The former governor called for a shift from political arguments to practical and strategically designed economic policies capable of addressing economic growth while reducing poverty.

“The nation must move beyond debates and adopt well-informed and strategically-designed options to the current economic policies can both address growth and alleviate crushing levels of poverty,” Duke said.

He said the PRP would pursue a different economic direction if elected, promising greater scrutiny of Nigeria’s economic strengths, better-informed policies and a stronger focus on the livelihoods of Nigerians.

“Under the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), sources of the strength of our economy will be reinforced by imaginative scrutiny, enlightened policies and livelihoods of Nigerians as priorities,” he said.

Duke also argued that Nigeria needed leadership capable of managing its resources effectively and transforming the country’s assets into sustainable economic growth and development.

“Nigerians deserve an administration that will respond to good management and growth and development of our assets,” he said.