Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, criticizes Nigeria’s leadership for economic decline over the past nine years. Highlighting significant drops in GDP and per capita income, Obi calls for urgent reforms to address poverty, unemployment, and education crises, urging leaders to shift focus from personal luxuries to national prosperity.
Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has called for urgent intervention to prevent further economic deterioration in Nigeria. Obi, reflecting on the last nine years under the current administration, criticized the nation’s leaders for focusing on personal luxuries rather than addressing critical economic issues.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Obi highlighted the stark decline in Nigeria’s economic indicators since 2015. He noted that while the country enjoyed an average GDP growth of 6.72% from 1999 to 2014, recent years have seen a sharp downturn. The GDP growth plummeted to 2.79% in 2015, sank into a recession in 2016, and remained weak in subsequent years. By 2024, Nigeria’s GDP had dropped to an estimated $253 billion, with a per capita income of just $1,087, reflecting a significant regression from its previous economic status.
Obi lamented the pervasive poverty, rising unemployment, and soaring food inflation, which now exceeds 43%. He accused current leaders of neglecting the nation’s pressing issues in favor of self-indulgence. According to Obi, the focus should shift to fostering sustainable economic growth, alleviating poverty, and addressing the education crisis affecting nearly 20 million out-of-school children.
