The Presidency has faulted the recent claim by Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), on Nigeria’s GDP per capita, saying he sounded like Peter Obi.
In a recent report, Adesina was quoted as saying that Nigerians are economically worse off today than they were in 1960 after independence
The AFDB chief, during his keynote address at the 20th anniversary dinner of investment firm Chapel Hill Denham in Lagos, asserted that Nigeria’s GDP per capita had dropped from $1,847 in 1960 to $824 in 2024.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to radically transform its economic model to become a globally competitive and industrialized nation by 2050.
Despite being Africa’s largest economy in terms of GDP, he noted that Nigeria’s economic structure remained deeply flawed and unsustainable.
He attributed the nation’s economic decline to decades of policy missteps, institutional weaknesses, over-reliance on crude oil exports, and chronic underinvestment in key sectors.
Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on Monday, tackled Adesina, saying the figures he quoted are not correct.
He accused the outgoing AfDB President of failing to conduct thorough research and relying on faulty statistics.
Onanuga blasted Akinwumi, saying his conclusions were based on inaccurate figures and an incomplete understanding of Nigeria’s economic progress.
According to him, significant progress has been made in various sectors since 1960.
Dismissing Adesina’s claim, Onanuga said Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93 — ninety-three, not even one hundred dollars.
Onanuga also criticised Adesina’s use of GDP per capita as a sole measure of economic wellbeing.
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He argued that the indicator fails to account for wealth distribution, informal economic activity, and other critical factors such as improvements in healthcare, education, and telecommunications.
He said, “Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned.
“In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981.
“Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982.
“In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200. These facts raise questions about the source of Dr Adesina’s figures.”
Although the presidential aide said his response is not aimed at poking holes in Adesina’s figures, he aimed a dig at him, saying the African banking president “Spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement.”
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