Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, has expressed his disapproval of Nigerian leaders’ misplaced priorities during a time of declining economic conditions in the country.
Obi, in a statement shared on social media, highlighted the significant decline in Nigeria’s GDP growth rate. He pointed out that between 1999 and 2014, the GDP growth rate stood at 6.72%.
However, in 2015, it dropped to 2.79%, followed by a recession in 2016 with a negative growth rate of -1.58%, and a modest growth of 0.82% in 2017.
Obi expressed his deep concern over the significant regression of Nigeria’s economy over the past nine years, resulting in the country losing its status as Africa’s largest economy.
He stated, “When Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, it maintained an average GDP growth of about 6.72% for 16 years from 1999-2014. The impressive growth trajectory, unfortunately, was not sustained by the then-new government and our GDP growth collapsed to 2.79% in 2015 and then sank into a recession in 2016 with a negative growth of -1.58% and 0.82% in 2017. For the past 9 years, Nigeria’s economy has seen unprecedented retrogression on many fronts.
“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.
“Our economic indices pointed towards hope and prospects for the future growth of the economy. Nine years later, the giant of Africa has retrogressed to the 4th largest economy in Africa.
“Reports showed our GDP in 2023 stood at $375 billion with a per capita of $1700. In 2024, our estimated GDP declined further to $253 billion with an estimated per capita of $1087. These trends and figures show how our 9 years journey since 2015 has resulted in a sharp decline in our national prosperity.”
He further noted, “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. Urgent actions need to be taken to salvage the nation from further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production.”
Rather than tackling these urgent challenges, Obi criticized leaders for prioritizing their personal luxuries and extravagance while shifting blame onto others for the country’s problems.
He emphasized that politics should be centered around serving the people and improving society, with a commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth aimed at alleviating hardships and attaining a peaceful and secure society.
