The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has criticized former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, over recent comments made about Nigeria’s economy at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
In a post shared via X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Sanwo-Olu faulted Obi’s remarks, describing them as unpatriotic and ironic, given Obi’s own track record on poverty reduction while in office.
According to Sanwo-Olu, while Obi focused on poverty in his remarks, it is important to scrutinize his performance when he served as Anambra State Governor between 2006 and 2014.
Citing official figures, Sanwo-Olu stated that Anambra’s poverty rate rose significantly under Obi’s leadership.
“Under Peter Obi as a two-term Anambra Governor, poverty in Anambra increased. It did not reduce. Before Peter Obi became Anambra Governor on Thursday, June 14, 2007, the poverty rate in Anambra was 41.4%. But after only two years in office, the poverty rate in Anambra jumped to 53.7%,” Sanwo-Olu wrote.
Tinubu reduced poverty in Lagos – Sanwo-Olu
He contrasted this with the achievements of President Bola Tinubu, who as Governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2007, reportedly reduced poverty by over 46%, a track record Sanwo-Olu believes Tinubu is replicating at the national level.
Sanwo-Olu highlighted ongoing interventions by the Tinubu administration, such as the construction of over 200 schools, the provision of student loans to over 200,000 undergraduates, and the disbursement of more than half a billion dollars in credit facilities to SMEs, as evidence of active efforts to address poverty and stimulate economic growth.
He further noted that Obi, during his tenure, failed to build a single standalone hospital or school and did not implement sustainable credit schemes to uplift the poor.
In addition, Sanwo-Olu pointed out that Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, managed to reduce the state’s poverty rate from almost 60% to 14.8% within five years, suggesting that better governance models were achievable with the right leadership.
“Mr. Obi contributed to the increase in poverty in Nigeria. Governor Tinubu, as he then was, was responsible for lifting millions out of poverty. Being that that is the case, who should criticise who?” Sanwo-Olu asked rhetorically.
Backstory
On Thursday, April 24, 2025, Obi spoke at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he raised concerns about worsening poverty levels in Nigeria and criticized the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Obi said Nigeria has, since 1990, fallen behind its developmental peers and now harbours more poor people than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.
In a post shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, Obi said Nigeria’s retrogression was not by accident, but the result of the persistent failure of political leadership to prioritize development-focused policies.
More insights
That more than 1 in every 7 of the world’s poorest people lives in Nigeria raises urgent questions about the country’s development path.
The World Bank revealed that the region accounted for 80% of the world’s 695 million extremely poor people in 2024.
