Peter Obi, former Anambra governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, has derided President Bola Tinubu’s government for worsening economic conditions, blaming it for the naira’s collapse, soaring food prices, and rising petrol costs.

During his meeting with Bauchi governor Bala Mohammed on Thursday, Mr Obi mocked Mr Tinubu’s administration, stating that it had made things worse than it met them.

“Tinubu promised to continue where Buhari stopped. If you look at it, Buhari left the dollar at about N400, today it is about N1,500. Rice was about N40,000, it is now over N100,000. Fuel was about N300, it is now over N1,000. I can go on and on—everything has doubled and tripled. So, he has done exactly as he promised,” Mr Obi said.

Comparing Nigeria’s economy to Indonesia’s, Mr Obi said, “In Indonesia, a president was sworn in about the same time as another one in Nigeria. Ten years later, Indonesia moved their GDP from $800 billion to $1.3 trillion, and their per capita income from $3,000 to $5,000.

“Here in Nigeria, our GDP fell from $500 billion to $200 billion, and per capita income dropped from $3,500 to below $2,000—that is the difference,” he added.

During the meeting, Mr Mohammed expressed readiness to work with Mr Obi to provide good governance to Nigerians.