State House, Abuja – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government has faulted the recent claim by Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on Nigeria’s GDP per capita.
Presidency replies to Adesina over GDP per capita claims
In a recent report, Adesina was quoted as saying that Nigerians today are economically worse off than they were in 1960 when the country gained independence.
Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement released on Monday, May 5 via his social media page X, tackled Adesina and noted that the figures he quoted are not correct.
The presidential aide said he sounded like Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections.
Onanuga claimed Adesina sounded like Peter Obi
Although the presidential aide said his response is not aimed at poking holes in Adesina’s figures, he aimed a dig at him, saying the African banking president “Spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement.”
Buttressing his point, Onanuga insisted that Adesina’s conclusions were based on inaccurate figures and an incomplete understanding of Nigeria’s economic progress.
Onanuga added that significant progress has been made in various sectors since 1960.
Dismissing Adesina’s claim, Onanuga said Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93 — ninety-three, not even one hundred dollars.
He said:
“Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981. Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200. These facts raise questions about the source of Dr Adesina’s figures.”
Read Bayo Onanuga’s full statement below:
Why Nigeria has more poor people than China
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Peter Obi has highlighted the factors responsible for Nigeria’s economic decline and worsening poverty.
He said decades of failed political leadership have made Nigeria fall behind countries like China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined, despite having higher GDP per capita than these nations.
Peter, who Obi spoke during a lecture he delivered at Johns Hopkins University, stressed that competent and compassionate leadership is essential for a nation’s progress.