Group describes Donald Duke's forecast of looming economic collapse as baseless, unfounded

The Democratic Front (TDF) has denounced recent comments by former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke of a looming economic collapse in Nigeria as baseless, unfounded and fatally flawed.

In a statement by its Chairman Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary Wale Adedayo, the group described Duke’s position as illogical against the backdrop of verifiable and measurable economic indices showing an massively improved economy that has turned the corner.

It said: “We are utterly surprised that Donald Duke, who administered Cross River State between 1999 and 2007 when federal allocations to states hovered between N200m and N400m, will forecast doom for Nigeria at this time that President Tinubu’s economic reforms have increased average monthly allocations to Cross River State to about ₦11.4bn.

“It behoves us as a responsible pro-democracy organization to call out Donald Duke as a harbinger of political gloom who, out of desperation to be seen as a serious opposition politician, has resorted to doomsday prophecies making reckless false alarms aimed at eliciting public attention for undue political patronage.

“It was perfidious of the former Governor to imagine unfounded economic doom for Nigeria without any reference to empirical and data-driven evidence of such looming economic disaster.

“We dare say that there is a bright economic climate in which salaries of federal and sub-national workers are increased and paid as at when due, foreign exchange reserves standing at over $51 billion. In addition, imports are rapidly substituted by local production through local industrial expansion, GDP growth by 3.89% year-on-year in Q1 of 2026, allocation of N 5 trillion to Defense and Security agencies to combat insecurity, headline inflation dropping down from 30% to 15%.

“Also, 87.5% of domestic petroleum demand is now refined locally, and a plethora of multi-trillion naira Infrastructure legacy projects across the country which are under execution certainly do not fit into the picture of a collapsing nation in Donald Duke’s riotous thoughts and imagination.

“It is disheartening that Donald Duke already conceded defeat as the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) by calling for a gang-up of opposition politicians against President Tinubu in the forthcoming presidential election.

“It is absurd and unbecoming of Donald Duke to parade himself as the Presidential Candidate having failed to present to Nigerians his alternative economic roadmap to the ongoing trailblazing reforms of President Tinubu, for public evaluation and comparative analysis.

“We urge Nigerians to rise in unison against Donald Duke’s doomsday prophecies and other prophets of doom as ongoing sound reforms take proper shape.”

The group further urged Nigerians to take necessary caution against being misinformed by mischievous politicians, maintaining that Donald Duke was not in the category of focused politicians to be taken seriously in the current dispensation.

End.