Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, has come under fire from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for criticizing the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government.
Peter Obi asserted that Nigeria lacks democracy in an appearance with Arise TV on Tuesday night, emphasizing that he would have performed better in his role as president.
Felix Morka, the APC’s national publicity secretary, responded in a statement on Wednesday night, saying that Tinubu’s accomplishments as president and governor of Lagos State are indisputable but that they require opposition confirmation.
Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has to control his inflated and naive imagination, according to the APC.
Morka claims that Obi is exhibiting signs of a long-lasting hangover brought on by the election’s defeat, from which he has not yet come to terms with the fact that he is not the president.
In an interview with Prime Time on Arise Television on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State and the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the general elections of 2023, strolled down his well-traveled tunnel and accused President Bola Tinubu of failing to implement economic policy reform, saying he would have performed better.
“To be honest, it was distressing to watch Mr. Obi struggle in vain to put together any logical critical economic argument in light of the administration’s economic reforms’ clear and indisputable track record of progress. Mr. Obi struggled on national television, portraying himself as a picture of frustration and political desperation, and even his signature opportunistic sensationalization of the temporary hardships that Nigerians have faced in patriotic support of the President’s ambitious and revolutionary economic plan did not help.
“I would have done better as president,” Mr. Obi’s go-to response, must be a sign of a long-lasting hangover from an unsuccessful election from which he has not come to terms with the fact that he is not the president. Mr. Obi must control his inflated and distorted imagination, much like an unlicensed backseat driver who believes he is a race car driver.
Denying the administration’s numerous accomplishments is not the goal of opposition politics. It is about affirming what is right while criticizing what might be incorrect. It is not a case of general censure meant solely to deceive and achieve short-term political advantages. It is indisputable and clear to all Nigerians that the Tinubu administration has made steady progress in all areas.
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“It is absurd that Mr. Obi, the governor of a forgotten and unsuccessful government with just 21 local government units in Anambra state, would so blatantly claim to be able to lead Africa’s biggest democracy. Obi left behind a vile legacy of religious division, ecological catastrophe, infrastructure deterioration, and economic stagnation.
“As president and a former governor of Lagos State, Tinubu is a relentless achiever who is fearless and unflinching in taking on and turning challenging obstacles into opportunities. With the economy recovering steadily, posting productivity-enhanced trade surpluses in consecutive quarters, and a 3.6 percent economic growth predicted for the current fiscal year, President Tinubu is doing the same for Nigeria as he did for Lagos. The country also has a rapidly growing foreign reserve, remodeled and operational local refineries, declining food inflation, a successful harmonization of multiple exchange rates that now supports increased foreign direct investments and remittances into the economy, and a reasonably stable foreign exchange rates.
“The administration has also reported in its success column that it has cleared a $7 billion foreign exchange backlog and that Ways and Means debt has decreased from 98 percent to roughly 64 percent; that oil production has increased to over 1.8 million barrels per day, surpassing the 1.5 million barrels per day quota set by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for the first time in many years; that the stock exchange market has been repositioned and is now among the most profitable in the world; that the agricultural, mine and steel, manufacturing, creative, and several other economic sub-sectors have expanded significantly, in an effort to increase the non-oil contribution to GDP; and that Chatham House has recently declared the country’s economy to be the most competitive it has been in 25 years.
Obi and his fellow opposition drummers of empty party barrels continue to dispute President Tinubu’s extraordinary and unparalleled near-term gains and accomplishments, while international organizations and experts celebrate the silent economic revolution that is being skillfully managed by Tinubu.
“President Tinubu is unwavering in his commitment to ensuring sound governance and better economic circumstances for all Nigerians.”
