Obi Slams Tinubu Over “False” Economic Claims Amid Soaring Hunger
Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for what he described as misleading economic statistics, asserting that the harsh reality of hunger in Nigeria contradicts the government’s narrative of improvement.
In a statement shared via his official X handle on Monday, Obi recalled how Tinubu, during his 2022 campaign, dismissed the use of statistics and promised to prioritize feeding Nigerians.
“In November 2022, while campaigning in Delta State, the then APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, now the president, mocked another candidate he was ashamed to call his name saying, ‘Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians,’” Obi said.
“Two years into his tenure, Nigeria is now ranked among the hungriest nations in the world, with millions unsure of their next meal.”
The former Anambra State governor accused the Tinubu administration of deploying fabricated economic indicators to mask worsening living conditions.
“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics from faulty unemployment figures to skewed inflation data and now GDP rebasing just to project an illusion of economic progress,” he said.
“Governance is not rocket science or a gamble. It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion.”
Obi’s comments align with criticism from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition, which he recently partnered with. In a statement issued Tuesday, ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi described the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as “a cynical public relations stunt disguised as economic progress.”
“You cannot rebase hunger. Nigerians cannot eat GDP,” Abdullahi stated.
However, the presidency has defended the GDP rebazing. Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga commended the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report, describing it as a positive step in reflecting the country’s evolving economy.
