“He Has Nothing To Offer Beyond Dubious Statistics” — Shettima Knocks Obi

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has criticised the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, saying he has “absolutely nothing to offer” Nigerians beyoQuestionable statistics and opposition to the restoration of the petrol subsidy.

Shettima made the remarks at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, where he acknowledged Obi’s position against restoring petrol subsidy but questioned the substance of his economic proposals.

“I respect Peter Obi for having the courage to say he’s not going to restore the petrol subsidy, but beyond spouting some dubious statistics, Mr Peter Obi has absolutely nothing to offer,” the Vice-President said.

Shettima also questioned comparisons of petrol prices in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, arguing that the differences were not significant enough to support some of the arguments surrounding the country’s fuel pricing.

He recalled claims that Nigeria was consuming about 67 million litres of petrol daily some years ago before comparing the current prices of the product in neighbouring countries with Nigeria’s.

“Now in Niger Republic, a litre of oil goes for approximately 0.85 U.S. dollars, which amounts to 1,148.36 Naira. In Benin Republic, it goes for approximately 1.28 U.S. dollars, which goes for 1,729.29 Naira. And in Cameroon, it goes for 1.44 U.S. dollars, which amounts to 1,945.45. In our country, it goes for 1,399.

“The parity is not wide,” he said.

The latest remarks represent another public criticism of Obi by the Vice-President, who has repeatedly questioned the former Anambra State governor’s economic comparisons and policy prescriptions.

Shettima recently faulted Obi’s comparisons between Nigeria and Bangladesh, arguing that economic policies developed for one country cannot automatically be applied to another without considering their peculiar circumstances.

Using a clothing-size analogy to illustrate his position, the Vice-President said: “He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame.”

According to Shettima, Nigeria’s economic policies must reflect the country’s population, institutions, political environment and economic structure rather than rely on statistics and models drawn from other countries.

“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities,” he added.

The Vice-President also challenged Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, describing the assertion as unsupported by evidence.

Shettima characterised the claim as a “delusion of grandeur” and accused Obi of presenting old political ideas as a new direction for Nigeria.