The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election Peter Obi, has taken aim at President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of misrepresenting Nigeria’s economic reality through inaccurate data.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Obi criticised Tinubu his main opponent in the last presidential race for what he described as a growing reliance on “false statistics” to deflect attention from the country’s deepening economic struggles.
Obi recalled a moment during the 2023 campaign when Tinubu mocked his evidence-based approach to governance.
“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?’” Obi wrote. “He insisted all he wanted was to put food on Nigerians’ tables.”
However, Obi argued that nearly two years into the Tinubu administration, the situation has deteriorated significantly, especially in terms of food security.
“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,” he stated.
He accused the president of deliberately misusing data to paint a misleading picture of the nation’s economic condition.
“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics from unemployment figures to inflation rates and now GDP rebasing all to create the illusion of progress amid growing hardship,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor stressed that honest, data-driven governance is critical to national development. He reiterated that leadership must be grounded in truth and character not optics.
“Governance is not rocket science. It is not a gamble. It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion,” he wrote.
Obi’s remarks come amid ongoing public frustration over rising food prices, high unemployment, and worsening living conditions issues many critics believe the current administration has yet to adequately address.
