The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has slammed President Bola Tinubu administration over its economic reforms.

Speaking during the 2025 first plenary meeting of the conference on Sunday, the Archbishop of Owerri and President of the CBCN, Lucius Iwejuru-Ugorji, said the reforms have pushed many Nigerians into abject poverty and triggered sky-rocketing inflation.

Mr Ugorji said Nigerians have continued to endure increasing hardship on account of the harsh socio-economic situation, including high cost of petroleum products, transportation and essential goods.

“While the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration aims at stabilising the economy on the long term, they have significantly triggered sky-rocketing inflation, drastically reduced the purchasing power of Nigerians, and plunged millions into poverty.

“The World Bank projects that 129 million Nigerians now live below the poverty line. The 2024 Global Report on Food Crisis lists Nigeria as the second globally in terms of acute food insecurity, with 24 million people categorised as food insecure.

“According to data drawn from the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation hit 39.84% in December 2024. It is reported that Nigerians now spend about 65% of their income on food alone. Thus healthcare and other basic necessities are sacrificed,” Mr Ugorji said.

He noted that government’s efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the citizenry through the distribution of palliatives, duty wavers on imported food items, and other measures have remained the tip of the iceberg.

According to him, Nigerians continue to suffer and die, noting that the resultant daily stress is having heavy tolls on the mental health of many parents as they overstretch themselves to make ends meet.

He, however, said that in recent times, citizens have witnessed the rehabilitation of some dilapidated roads and the construction of new ones across the nation; the introduction of the student loan scheme, the new minimum wage, and the reduction in revenue to debt servicing from 97% to 68%.

He said: “Despite all these, the state of the nation remains bleak, as dark clouds of uncertainty and despondency continue to gather. In this address, I shall cast a cursory glance at four issues, including the harsh socio-economic situation of our nation, heightening insecurity, rising youth unemployment and the deplorable state of our federal correctional centres.”

On the security bedevilling the country, Mr Ugorji said that the scourge still persists.

He said the situation has become even worse across the nation as the ‘armies’ of Boko Haram, bandits, and unknown gunmen continue to grow in number, as well as in acts of wickedness and barbarism.

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