By Muhammad Mamman
Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu for disseminating inaccurate economic statistics, accusing the administration of masking Nigeria’s dire economic and social challenges. In a compelling statement posted on X on Monday, Obi condemned the government’s reliance on flawed unemployment, inflation, and GDP rebasing figures to project a falsely positive economic narrative.
Recalling Tinubu’s 2022 campaign rhetoric in Delta State, Obi highlighted the President’s dismissive attitude towards statistical data. “Tinubu mocked me, saying, ‘Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians,’” Obi recounted. “Yet, two years into his tenure, Nigeria ranks among the hungriest nations globally, with millions uncertain of their next meal.”
Obi accused the administration of manipulating economic indicators to obscure the nation’s worsening conditions. “President Tinubu is overfeeding Nigerians with misleading statistics—erroneous unemployment figures, distorted inflation data, and now GDP rebasing—all to gloss over our deteriorating economic and household realities,” he stated. “Governance demands sincerity, competence, and compassion, not statistical sleight of hand.”
Echoing Obi’s sentiments, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he is aligned, recently denounced the government’s celebration of the rebased GDP. ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi labelled the move “a cynical PR stunt masquerading as economic progress,” asserting that “Nigerians cannot eat GDP.”
In contrast, Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson for the Tinubu administration, defended the National Bureau of Statistics’ report, praising the rebased GDP as a marker of economic advancement.
As Nigeria grapples with acute hunger and economic hardship, Obi’s critique underscores a growing call for transparent and effective governance to address the nation’s pressing challenges.
