You sound like Peter Obi — Presidency blasts Adesina over claims on GDP per capita

You sound like Peter Obi — Presidency blasts Adesina over claims on GDP per capita

 The Presidency has faulted the recent claim by Akinwumi
Adesina, the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on
Nigeria’s GDP per capita.

 

In a recent report, Adesina was quoted as saying that
Nigerians today are worse off than they were in 1960.

 

The AFDB chief was also reported to have said that Nigeria’s
GDP per capita in 1960 was $1847 and $824 in 2025.

 

Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on
Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Monday, tackled
Adesina, saying the figures he quoted are not correct.

 

Onanuga blasted Akinwumi, saying his conclusions were based
on inaccurate figures and an incomplete understanding of Nigeria’s economic
progress.

 

According to him, 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.”

 

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.”

 
CORRECTION: AKINWUMI ADESINA'S CLAIMS ON NIGERIA'S GDP PER CAPITA: THE FACTS TELL A DIFFERENT STORYA few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians today are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that do not align with… pic.twitter.com/EyS7pHiXVL— Bayo Onanuga (@aonanuga1956) May 5, 2025The statement reads in part, “My mission in this response is
not to poke holes in the erudite African banking president’s figures. The more
substantive issue lies in Dr. Adesina’s conclusion based on these numbers.

 

Dr Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only
criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the
past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards. Its primary
usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country
or between countries.”

 

The presidency added that GDP per capita does not indicate
whether Nigerians in 2025 will enjoy better access to healthcare, education,
and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960.

 

This premise, according to the Presidency, suggests why Dr
Adesina should not have arrived at his conclusion.

 

“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made
progress since 1960. Today, as we await the NBS’s recalibration of our GDP, we
can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not
100 times, more than it was at Independence. Adesina spoke like a politician,
in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his
unverifiable statement,” the Presidency said. 

Source: You sound like Peter Obi — Presidency blasts Adesina over claims on GDP per capita

 - NigerianEye
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