Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lashed out at Peter Obi of the Labour Party for “demarketing” Nigeria abroad, accusing him of contributing to Nigeria’s poverty rate as former governor of Anambra State.

Mr Sanwo-Olu, in a statement posted on his X page on Monday, said Mr Obi lacked the moral rectitude to raise the alarm about Nigeria’s poverty rate.

“Mr Obi contributed to the increase in poverty in Nigeria,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said. “Governor Tinubu, as he then was, was responsible for lifting millions out of poverty.”

Mr Sanwo-Olu added, “Mr Obi talks a good game. But was he able to reduce poverty while he governed Anambra? Perhaps we can let the facts speak for themselves. Under Peter Obi, as a two-term Anambra governor, poverty in Anambra increased. It did not reduce.”

The Lagos governor slammed Mr Obi for saying poverty is on the increase as Mr Tinubu’s policies are making Nigerians poorer. The 2023 presidential candidate spoke at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, last week.

“I find it somewhat ironic that a man like Mr Obi, who did not build a single school or a stand-alone hospital throughout his eight-year tenure as governor of Anambra or sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise the government of Nigeria, which is actively doing that,” Mr Sanwo-Olu said.

He added, “I say this because the president of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is my predecessor, and as governor of Lagos and now president of Nigeria, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.”

Mr Sanwo-Olu’s response to Mr Obi’s statement comes a few days after the World Bank’s Africa Pulse report of April 2025 stated that Nigeria, under Mr Tinubu, has the highest number of extremely poor people globally.

The report also predicted a grim future for Nigeria, warning that many more Nigerians will be plunged into poverty by 2027 under Mr Tinubu’s watch.

Barely a week ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Mr Tinubu’s economic policies are yet to yield tangible benefits for Nigerians, as poverty and food insecurity remain widespread.

The IMF said that, although reforms introduced by the Tinubu-led government have put the Nigerian economy in a better position to navigate this external environment, the country still faces economic uncertainty.