Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing to implement effective economic policies, highlighting what he described as an escalating economic crisis under the current government.

In an interview on Arise News Prime Time on Tuesday, Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, argued that the floating of the naira by the Tinubu administration, coupled with the absence of productive investments, has worsened Nigeria’s economic situation. He also criticized the administration for increasing the country’s debt profile, with debt servicing costs now exceeding budget allocations for critical sectors such as health and education.

“The President that is there today, how many years has he stayed? Two years, and look at the turn of things. It means you can change things in two years. That means if I were there, you would have seen considerable change in critical areas,” Obi said, claiming that his approach would have focused on productivity and sustainable economic growth.

Obi pointed out that under Tinubu, Nigeria’s debt has skyrocketed from approximately N17 trillion to over N170 trillion within two years. He also emphasized that the cost of servicing the debt has surpassed the combined budgets for essential services like health, education, and infrastructure. “70 percent of our primary health care centres are not functioning. I would fix our PHCs and primary schools if I were president,” he added.