Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has accused President Bola Tinubu of feeding Nigerians with “wrong statistics” amid worsening poverty and hunger, arguing that the government is using questionable data to mask the country’s deepening economic crisis.
Obi’s criticism, shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, referenced a 2022 campaign remark by Tinubu, who had dismissed Obi’s focus on data by saying, “Na statistics we go chop? I want to put food on the table of Nigerians.”
“Now two years into his four-year tenure, Nigeria is classified as one of the hungriest nations in the world with millions of Nigerians not knowing where their next meal will come from,” Obi said on Monday, in a rare scathing rebuke of the Tinubu administration’s handling of the economy.
He accused the government of manipulating key economic indicators – including unemployment, inflation, and GDP growth – to create a false sense of recovery while citizens continue to grapple with soaring food prices and eroding incomes.
“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics: from wrong unemployment figures, wrong inflation figures, and now GDP rebasing,” Obi stated. “All to put a positive spin on our deteriorating economic and household conditions.”
His comments come amid mounting skepticism over recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The agency has come under fire over its new methodology for measuring unemployment, which significantly lowered the headline jobless rate, despite widespread reports of joblessness and underemployment across the country. Similarly, the government’s claim of a slowing inflation rate has done little to calm citizens who continue to battle skyrocketing food and transport costs.
In June, the World Bank warned that over 100 million Nigerians were living below the poverty line, with food insecurity now threatening large swaths of the population.
The NBS rebased inflation rate in January, resulting a dramatic drop from 34.80% in December 2024 to 24.48%. The agency says the country’s annual inflation has been easing in recent months, and had fallen to 22.22% in June.
But related markers suggest a different reality. The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC Bank showed that business activity in Nigeria expanded at its weakest pace in seven months in June, as manufacturers struggled and overall demand softened, despite reported relief from high inflation.
Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria retained its benchmark interest rate at 27.5% for the third consecutive time this year amid concerns inflation remained a risk.
“Not rocket science”
Obi said the reality on the streets starkly contradicts the government’s economic narrative. “Governance is not rocket science. It’s not a gamble,” he said. “It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion.”
The former Anambra State governor’s statement has resonated with many Nigerians, who say the economic situation continues to worsen despite reassurances from the federal government. For many, the question remains: if not statistics, and still no food—what exactly are they getting?
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