Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has taken aim at President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of manipulating data to obscure Nigeria’s deepening economic challenges.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Obi recalled how Tinubu once mocked his data-driven approach during the 2023 election campaign, only to now allegedly rely on questionable statistics.
“In November 2022, while campaigning in Delta state, Tinubu said he was ashamed to call my name and mocked me, saying, ‘Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians,’” Obi recounted.
“Now, two years into his four-year tenure, Nigeria is ranked among the hungriest nations in the world, with millions unsure of where their next meal will come from.”
Obi accused the president of presenting “false data” on key economic indicators such as unemployment, inflation, and GDP growth in an attempt to paint a misleading picture of progress.
“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics… all to paint a rosy picture of our deteriorating economic and household conditions,” he stated.
Reiterating the need for truth, transparency, and competence in leadership, Obi added:
“Governance is not rocket science. It is not a gamble. It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity and compassion.”
Obi’s remarks add to the growing chorus of opposition voices calling out the Tinubu administration for its handling of economic policy amid rising inflation, food insecurity, and a depreciating naira.
