The All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized Peter Obi, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, for his ongoing criticisms of its economic policies, which have recently led to a rise in the cost of living across the country.
On Monday, Obi called for swift action to address the current economic crisis in the country.
In his statement, he emphasized the disparity between Nigeria’s economic performance in the early years following its return to democracy and its current state.
He wrote, “When Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, it maintained an average GDP growth of about 6.72% for 16 years from 1999-2014.”
However, he pointed out that this growth was not sustained, with GDP growth collapsing to 2.79% in 2015 and the economy slipping into recession in 2016.
He said, “In 2014, just before the inception of a new administration a year later, Nigeria had the biggest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $568.5 billion and a GDP Per Capita of about $3,200.”
In contrast, he noted that by 2023, Nigeria had fallen to the fourth largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $375 billion and a per capita income of $1,700.
He added that the situation worsened in 2024, with the GDP declining further to an estimated $253 billion and the per capita income dropping to $1,087.
Subsequently, the former governor expressed alarm at the current state of affairs, saying, “Today, poverty is pervasive and on the increase. Unemployment is rising. Food inflation has skyrocketed to over 43%. Foreign and local investors are losing faith in the future growth of our economy and are leaving in large numbers. Businesses are shutting down.”
He then called for urgent action to prevent further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production as he criticised the current leadership.
Obi said, “Urgent actions need to be taken to salvage the nation from further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production.
“However, instead of concerning ourselves with all these challenges threatening our collective existence and finding ways to recreate an inclusive and sustainable economy, pull millions of people out of poverty, and return our nearly 20 million out-of-school children to schools, our leaders are more concerned with funding their selfish luxuries and individual lavishness, while throwing blames at others who are only committed to solving the nation’s problems.
“In the face of all these challenges, we the leaders should commit to inclusive and sustainable growth to end the hardship which has continued to burden our fellow Nigerians. Only through that can we achieve a peaceful and secure society.”
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate reached 34.19 per cent in June, even as the food inflation was over 40 per cent.
Reacting to his outburst, APC in a statement on Tuesday by National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Obi’s criticism was based misleading assessment of the country’s economic trajectory in the last decade.
APC wrote, “The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has continued, unabashedly, to showcase his obsessive devotion to self promotion against the best interest of Nigeria. Mr. Obi’s latest statement on the country’s economic situation is an admixture of half truths, blatant distortions and misinformation calculated to mobilize outrage against the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“His warped conclusion that Nigeria’s economic crisis was caused by nine years of APC-led administration is a highly revisionist, dishonest, distorted and deliberately misleading assessment of the country’s economic trajectory in the last decade.
“He opined, rather mischievously, that no efforts were being made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to tackle poverty and unemployment in the country.”
Reeling from the trajectory of Nigeria’s economic decline, APC said it began under the watch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with Goss Democratic Product growth plummeting from 7.98 per cent in 2010 to 2.79 per cent in 2015.
It said, “And since 2015, the global oil price crash, geopolitical tensions, climate change, global COVID pandemic and rising population have all taken a toll on Nigeria’s economy that is almost entirely dependent on drastically reduced oil export earnings.”
The party said the growth recorded during the PDP years was due entirely to high price of crude oil and increased government spending that it supported.
It wrote, “It is noteworthy that between 2007-2014, Nigeria earned $531.2 billion under the PDP, compared to $287.8 billion under APC between 2015-2022. This drastically reduced export earnings under the APC administration was even further stretched thin by the country’s population surge from 184 million in 2015 to 229 million in 2024.
“Despite the huge revenues available to it, successive PDP administrations neglected to address underlying structural challenges and distortions in the economy leaving the country vulnerable to economic shocks and volatility.
“Had the PDP undertaken a sustained programme of economic reform as President Tinubu is currently engaged, Nigeria’s economic situation would be far better than it is today.
“But in his selfish political desperation, Obi will never acknowledge the complexity of the causation of our economic challenges but would rather attempt to scapegoat the APC administration for all of the country’s economic ills while turning a blind eye to the bold and thoughtful policy interventions of President Tinubu’s administration.”
APC argued that Tinubu’s administration’s focused and determined efforts to tackle the country’s challenges through diversification, massive infrastructure development, social welfare, agricultural revolution and sustained improvements in national security, are certain to accelerate Nigeria’s resurgence, create jobs and lift millions of our people out of poverty.
“Quite contrary to Obi’s jaundiced and gloomy analysis, in the last one year alone, the country has attracted over $20 billion into the economy, aside recording an all-time high N6.52 trillion trade surplus in the first quarter of 2024 marking a positive shift from a long history of trade deficits.
Foreign Airline Debts
On clearing the foreign exchange debt to foreign airlines and other economic actors by the Central Bank of Nigeria, APC said the nation’s foreign reserves have continued to expand, hitting upwards of $34 billion, the highest in recent times.
“Capital inflow into the country increased by 66.27 per cent this year alone. Notable financial experts and the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report that for the first time in our economic history, the All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) crossed the 100,000 benchmarks this year, making the Nigerian Stock Exchange currently about the most profitable capital market in the world with a return on investment (RoI) as high as 22.90 per cent.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that the nation’s economy will have a 3.1 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2024, one of the highest projections for any African country.
Credit Corps, Student Loan
Morka said initiatives such as the Credit Corps, Students Loan, the newly approved minimum wage, the construction of the 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, and many more are tailor-made by President Tinubu to combat poverty and expand economic opportunities for Nigerians.
He said, “Economic challenges and hardship are a stark reality of most countries of the world today, both developed and developing. It is an existential condition that must be tackled and transformed. “This is an arduous task that requires collective patriotic collaboration. Mr. Obi must know that inflaming passion and mobilising outrage through false and manipulative narratives are not legitimate tools of opposition politics.
“Expecting President Tinubu to accomplish total transformation of Nigeria in one year, a feat he failed miserably to accomplish in eight years as Governor of Anambra state, is the height of disgraceful hypocrisy.
“President Tinubu remains focused and committed to building lasting blocks of economic prosperity for Nigeria.