Former Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has taken a pointed swipe at President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing his administration of weaponizing false statistics to mask the worsening economic hardship currently biting millions of Nigerians.
In a bold statement released Thursday, Obi referenced a controversial moment during Tinubu’s 2022 campaign trail in Delta State, where the then-presidential candidate had mocked him (Peter Obi) for what Tinubu called an overuse of “statistics.”
“Na statistics we go chop?” Tinubu had asked in pidgin during that rally. “All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians.”
Now, almost two years into Tinubu’s presidency, Obi says Nigerians are not only not eating, but have been left starving, in what global hunger watchdogs describe as one of the most severe food insecurity crises in the world.
“Nigeria is now classified as one of the hungriest nations on earth,” Obi said. “Millions of our people no longer know where their next meal will come from.”
The former Anambra State Governor accused President Tinubu of deploying “wrong statistics, wrong unemployment figures, wrong inflation data, and now GDP rebasing” to create a false image of progress, while families struggle daily to survive.
“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians—but with wrong numbers,” Obi said. “All to spin positivity over what is clearly a deteriorating household and economic condition.”
In April 2025, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics reported a GDP rebasing exercise that has drawn sharp criticism from economists and opposition figures who say the move is timed to project economic growth amidst crushing inflation, rising food prices, and record youth unemployment.
Peter Obi used the moment to reiterate his core philosophy of leadership: “Governance is not rocket science,” he emphasized. “It’s not a gamble. It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion.”
While President Tinubu’s camp is yet to officially respond to Obi’s latest comments, analysts say this may be a sign of mounting pressure as the administration approaches the mid-point of its four-year term.
Peter Obi, who continues to command a massive youth following and grassroots movement under the banner of “A New Nigeria Is POssible,” ended his statement with what has become his signature closing line—doubling down on hope:
“A new Nigeria is POssible.”
