Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has strongly criticized the administration of President Bola Tinubu, claiming it has failed to effectively manage Nigeria’s economy.
In a recent interview on Arise News, Obi accused the government of worsening the country’s economic situation through poor policy decisions, particularly its handling of the naira devaluation and rising national debt.
Obi remarked, “The President that is there today, how many years has he stayed? Two years, and look at the turn of things. It means you can change things in two years. That means if I were there, you would have seen considerable change in critical areas.”
He went on to describe the administration’s decision to float the naira without boosting productivity as a mistake. “When you don’t have productivity and you devalue your money, it’s a double whammy. So, I would have injected money into productivity,” Obi added.
On the economic challenges, he said, “The current administration met a debt of about N17tn; in two years, it has moved to over N170tn. The cost of debt servicing is above the budget for critical areas like health and education.”
Obi also emphasized that if he were president, he would have prioritized fixing the country’s broken health and education systems. “I would fix our PHCs and primary schools if I were president,” he stated.
Additionally, Obi expressed frustration with the state of Nigeria’s democracy, claiming the current government is intimidating opposition voices. He pointed to the crisis in Rivers State as a sign of the administration’s disregard for democratic norms.
Obi concluded by reiterating that he was not desperate for the presidency but was focused on working with others to rebuild the country. “I am not desperate to be President but to see Nigeria work,” he affirmed.