President Bola Tinubu’s government has hit back at Peter Obi, former Anambra governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, saying the opposition politician’s knowledge of governance and economics is “very shallow.”

Peter Obi “seems to have very shallow knowledge of economics and governance,” Daniel Bwala, a presidential spokesperson, said in a post on X, reacting to Mr Obi’s interview with Arise TV on Monday.

“Anybody with rational mind knows these guys are just looking to grab power; but they don’t have any alternative agenda,” Mr Bwala said.

Reacting to Mr Obi’s statement on dual policies of Tinubu-led government, fuel subsidy removal and exchange rates harmonisation, the presidential spokesperson said the former Anambra governor agreed with Mr Tinubu’s policies. 

“Is anybody watching @PeterObi on Arise TV? He agreed with our policy of removal of subsidy and unifications of the foreign exchange; he claimed he would have done it better than us in an “organised manner,” Mr Bwala said. “He was asked what is the “organised manner” He played with words yet to arrive at agreeing with us.”

In his interview on Monday, Mr Obi blamed Mr Tinubu for the internal crisis in the Labour Party while also criticising Mr Tinubu’s government for allocating resources to road projects amid heightened insecurity in the country.

“Are you saying that the coastal road is more important than securing Nigeria?” Mr Obi asked. “The roads we have all over the country are no more durable. You fix those roads first and use your resources to secure your country.”

He added, “Security is far more fundamental than roads. Would you prefer a road to your village when you cannot drive to your village? If you prefer, let us do what we are doing. So if you say our problem is insecurity, they can’t go to farm, our problem is power, let’s deal with those things.”