Presidency slams Adesina’s GDP remarks

The Presidency has sharply criticised recent comments by outgoing African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, accusing him of misrepresenting Nigeria’s economic trajectory and “sounding like Peter Obi” in his conclusions about the country’s progress since independence in 1960.

In a detailed rebuttal signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the Presidency challenged Dr. Adesina’s claim that Nigeria’s GDP per capita had declined from $1,847 in 1960 to $824 today.

Onanuga described the figures as “grossly inaccurate” and “unverified,” arguing that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was only $93, not nearly $2,000.

“Adesina spoke like a politician in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” Onanuga wrote.

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Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, made headlines last week when he claimed that Nigerians were economically worse off today than they were at independence, based on GDP per capita comparisons.

The remarks, delivered at a recent public forum, were intended to highlight concerns about declining living standards and persistent poverty in Africa’s largest economy.

But the Presidency has taken issue with both the accuracy of the statistics and the sweeping nature of Adesina’s conclusion.

Onanuga argued that GDP per capita is “a poor tool” for assessing whether people are better off, noting that the metric fails to capture wealth distribution, income inequality, informal economic activity, or improvements in infrastructure and public services.

“GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It does not account for subsistence farming, wealth transfers within families, or the vast informal economy, which experts say may be larger than the formal sector,” the statement read.

The Presidency highlighted improvements in education, healthcare, transportation, and digital access since 1960 as evidence that Nigerians are better off today.

“Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has more primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. We have more road networks and more medical facilities. We also have near-universal access to telephones. At Independence, we had fewer than 20,000 telephone lines; today, over 200 million Nigerians enjoy mobile access.”

Onanuga also pointed to the rise of Nigeria’s telecoms industry as a case study in how GDP figures can be misleading.

“When Vodacom was advised in 1999 that Nigerians were too poor to afford GSM services, MTN took the risk instead – and has been laughing all the way to the bank ever since,” he said, citing the company’s N1 trillion revenue in Q1 2025.

The most striking element of the statement was its political tone. By likening Adesina to Labour Party leader Peter Obi – known for his data-heavy but sometimes contested economic assessments – the Presidency appeared to cast Adesina’s remarks as populist and politically motivated.

While Adesina has not declared any political ambition, speculation about his future beyond the AfDB continues to swirl, especially as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections.

The Presidency’s strongly worded response underscores how sensitive economic commentary has become in a politically charged environment. With GDP rebasing on the horizon and inflation and living costs still high, any suggestion that Nigeria is worse off today risks becoming fodder for opposition messaging – and pushback from the government.

“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960,” Onanuga concluded.