Presidency to Obi: You Released Misleading Statistics to Incite Unrest in Nigeria

The Nigerian Presidency has strongly criticized former presidential candidate Peter Obi for disseminating what it describes as misleading and selectively framed statistics concerning the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In a recent post on X, Obi highlighted that Nigeria maintained an average GDP growth of about 6.72% from 1999 to 2014 after transitioning to democratic governance. He lamented that this positive trend did not continue under the subsequent administration, with GDP growth plummeting to 2.79% in 2015 and further sinking into recession in 2016, recording a negative growth of -1.58% and a marginal increase of 0.82% in 2017.

Obi further remarked, “For the past nine years, Nigeria’s economy has experienced unprecedented regression on multiple fronts. In 2014, just before the new administration took over, Nigeria boasted the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $568.5 billion and a GDP per capita of approximately $3,200. Our economic indicators were promising, yet nine years later, Nigeria has slipped to the position of the fourth largest economy in Africa.”

In response, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, accused Obi of using these statistics to incite his followers and destabilize the nation. Onanuga questioned the timing of Obi’s economic review, suggesting ulterior motives behind it.

“Labour Party’s failed presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has once again resorted to presenting misleading, half-truth statistics,” Onanuga wrote on his X page. “The critical question is, why this economic review now? The motive is clear: he aims to provoke his supporters into creating unrest in the country starting next week.”