Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has criticized Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his recent comments on Nigeria’s poverty situation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

In a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at John Hopkins University,” Sanwo-Olu said Obi was not morally positioned to make “alarming claims” about the country’s poverty levels.

Obi, speaking at Johns Hopkins University, had compared Nigeria’s poverty rate to that of China and Vietnam, arguing that competent leadership rooted in education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation was key to national development. However, Sanwo-Olu pushed back, alleging that poverty worsened in Anambra State during Obi’s time as governor.

“Under Peter Obi as a two-term Anambra Governor, poverty in Anambra increased. It did not reduce. Before Peter Obi became Anambra Governor on June 14, 2007, the poverty rate in Anambra was 41.4%. But after only two years in office, the poverty rate jumped to 53.7%,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

He noted that Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, later reduced the state’s poverty rate significantly to 14.8%, suggesting Obi lacked the moral standing to criticize Nigeria’s current leadership.

Sanwo-Olu also praised Tinubu’s achievements, both as Lagos Governor and Nigeria’s President, citing the creation of over 200 schools, support for over 200,000 undergraduates through loans, and the granting of more than half a billion dollars in credit facilities to SMEs within his first two years in office.

Criticizing Obi’s remarks made abroad, Sanwo-Olu said Nigerian leaders should project a positive image internationally. “When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to market Nigeria, not de-market her. That is what true patriotism is about,” he said.

Challenging Obi’s record, Sanwo-Olu concluded, “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,” expressing confidence that Tinubu would replicate his Lagos successes at the national level.