The presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has warned the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government against presenting improvements in some macroeconomic indicators as evidence that Nigerians’ living standards are improving.

Obi said economic growth and increased revenue generation should not be mistaken for economic development, arguing that the real measures of progress include poverty reduction, job creation, improved living conditions and reduced inequality.

He stated this in a statement posted on his official X handle on Monday, while reacting to a recent World Bank report highlighting improvements in some economic indicators.

According to him, the government’s economic reforms have yet to translate into meaningful improvements in the welfare of ordinary Nigerians, despite reported gains in revenue generation and economic stability.

“Nigerians and even the World Bank know that the criteria for economic development is whether poverty is declining, whether jobs are created for our youths, and whether we are reducing acute inequality. In the case of Nigeria under President Tinubu, the answer is no,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor argued that the reported economic stability had not resulted in higher living standards, better employment opportunities or a significant reduction in poverty and inequality across the country.

He maintained that an economy could not be considered truly stable merely because government revenue increased, foreign reserves strengthened or gross domestic product (GDP) recorded growth.

According to Obi, genuine economic stability should be reflected in citizens’ ability to afford food, access healthcare, educate their children and live with dignity.

He questioned the benefits of increased government revenue to Nigerians struggling to meet their basic needs, particularly families forced to choose between purchasing food and paying for medicines.
“What comfort does higher revenue offer a mother who cannot provide her children with a nutritious meal? What does higher government revenue mean to a family forced to choose between purchasing food and paying for medicine?” he asked.

Obi also criticised the government’s economic reforms, arguing that the benefits being celebrated had not sufficiently addressed the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians.

Citing the World Bank report titled Beyond the Federal Purse: How Higher Revenues Reshaped State Priorities, Obi said the Federal Government spent N7.7 trillion on debt interest payments in the first six months of 2026, from January to June.

He said the amount represented approximately 124.2 per cent of the N6.2 trillion generated as total revenue during the period, leaving debt interest payments about N1.5 trillion above revenue.

The NDC presidential candidate questioned why the country’s debt burden remained unsustainable despite what he described as a substantial increase in government revenue since 2023.

He further expressed concern over the decline in capital expenditure, claiming that spending on capital projects fell by about N700 billion in the first half of 2026.

According to him, the Federal Government was spending approximately 11 times more on debt interest payments than on capital projects, a development he attributed to excessive borrowing, corruption and poor economic management by the Tinubu administration.

Obi warned that the government could not rely on selected economic statistics to convince Nigerians that its policies were delivering positive results while citizens continued to struggle with rising living costs and declining purchasing power.

He urged the administration to assess the impact of its economic reforms based on improvements in citizens’ welfare rather than relying solely on indicators such as revenue growth and economic expansion.

“President Bola Tinubu and his incompetent team must recognise that intentionally presenting and projecting incomplete economic statistics cannot replace the critical measure of how reform impacts on the welfare of the people,” he said.

He added that Nigerians should not be expected to celebrate economic figures while grappling with the effects of government policies.

Obi also cited a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, claiming that approximately 140 million Nigerians were classified as multidimensionally poor and that the country was among those where previous gains in poverty reduction had been reversed.

He questioned how the government could celebrate improvements in selected economic indicators when millions of Nigerians continued to face poverty and economic hardship.

The former Anambra governor maintained that the ultimate test of the administration’s economic policies should be whether they improve the quality of life of Nigerians, create employment opportunities and reduce the number of people living in poverty.