Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, has accused President Bola Tinubu of manipulating economic statistics to downplay Nigeria’s economic challenges. Obi claims that Tinubu’s administration uses misleading data on unemployment, inflation, and GDP rebasing to present a falsely positive picture of the economy. He referenced a 2022 campaign statement where Tinubu mocked his reliance on statistics, saying, “Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on Nigerians’ tables.” Obi argues that, two years into Tinubu’s tenure, Nigeria is among the world’s hungriest nations, with millions facing food insecurity. He criticized the government for failing to deliver on promises and urged for governance with “sincerity, competence, and compassion.”
