Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of presenting false statistics to downplay the country’s economic challenges.

In a statement on Monday, Obi claimed that Tinubu’s administration is overfeeding Nigerians with wrong figures on unemployment, inflation, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rebasing to create a positive narrative despite the harsh economic realities.

According to Obi, Tinubu’s administration is attempting to put a positive spin on the deteriorating economic and household conditions in Nigeria.

Obi referenced Tinubu’s 2022 campaign remark, where he dismissed the importance of statistics, saying, “Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians.”

Obi noted that Nigeria is now classified as one of the hungriest nations in the world, with millions of Nigerians struggling to access basic necessities.

Obi stressed that governance requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion.

He said: “In November 2022, while campaigning in Delta State, the then APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, now the President, berated the other presidential candidate (Peter Obi)—he was ashamed to call his name—saying, ‘Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians.’

“Now, two years into his four-year tenure, Nigeria is classified as one of the hungriest nations in the world, with millions of Nigerians not knowing where their next meal will come from.

“President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics—from wrong unemployment figures, wrong inflation figures, and now GDP rebasing—all to put a positive spin on our deteriorating economic and household conditions.

“Governance is not a rocket science, it’s not a gamble. Like I have always reiterated, it requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion.”