The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim that Nigeria achieved its 2025 revenue target ahead of schedule, arguing that the figures have not translated into relief for ordinary Nigerians.
On Tuesday, Tinubu announced that the Federal Government had already met its annual revenue goal, largely driven by non-oil income, and ruled out additional borrowing. The president described it as evidence of economic stabilisation.
But in a statement issued Wednesday night, Obi congratulated the president while insisting that Nigerians were yet to feel the impact.
“If indeed the economy stabilises as you declared, then Nigerians must feel it in their daily lives. Borrowings must stop now. Contractors’ debts should be cleared, and critical underfunded projects must be funded,” Obi said.
He added that true stability should be evident in well-equipped classrooms, functional hospitals, and poverty reduction, not just in “figures announced at press conferences.”
Obi urged the government to channel excess revenue in the remaining four months of the year into education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation, stressing that the deployment must be transparent and measurable.
In a follow-up post on Thursday, the former Anambra governor accused the Tinubu administration of showing insensitivity to citizens’ hardship.
“Why are retirees who served this nation still protesting unpaid gratuities and pensions? Why are SMEs drowning in debt while the government boasts of excess revenue?” Obi asked.
He warned that meeting revenue targets without addressing widespread suffering amounts to “throwing citizens into debt and despair,” insisting that governance must be anchored on compassion and accountability.
“Our nation must not continue in this direction. Achieving revenue targets means nothing if it does not impact the lives of the people. A New Nigeria is POssible,” he added.
