‘You contributed to Nigeria’s poverty increase’: Sanwo-Olu slams Obi for criticising Tinubu’s govt

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lashed out at the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, for criticising President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Obi had, while speaking at Johns Hopkins University in the United States last Thursday, condemned Nigeria’s poverty rate.

The former governor of Anambra State who spoke on the topic, ‘Politics and Change in Nigeria’, stated that Nigeria has more poor people than Indonesia, China, and Vietnam.

Reacting via a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, April 28, 2025, Sanwo-Olu accused Obi of making “disparaging comments” about Nigeria, saying the former governor contributed to Nigeria’s poverty increase.

The governor stated: “Now, I find it somewhat ironic that a man like Mr. Obi, who did not build a single school or a stand alone hospital throughout his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra or sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise the Government of Nigeria, which is actively doing that.

“I say this because the President of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is my predecessor, and as Governor of Lagos and now President of Nigeria, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

“In less than two years, he has provided over half a billion dollars in credit facilities to small and medium-scale enterprises.

“While he was Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, the President reduced poverty by more than 46%. There is every reason to believe that, based on what he did as Governor of Lagos, he will repeat the same feat at the federal level. After all, the best predictor of the future is the past.

“But let us examine the messenger, not just the message, and look at the issuer as well as the issues.

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“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.

“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%.

“But the interesting thing is that five years after Peter Obi left office, his successor, Willie Obiano, reduced the poverty rate in Anambra from almost 60% to 14.8%.

“As such, I am not sure that Mr. Obi is morally well placed to make the alarming claims he made about Nigeria at Johns Hopkins.

“Mr. Obi contributed to the increase in poverty in Nigeria. Governor Tinubu, as he then was, was responsible for lifting millions out of poverty.”

Sanwo-Olu, however, said prominent Nigerians travelling abroad should promote the nation’s image rather than “de-market” it.

Sanwo-Olu added: “When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than de-market her. That is what true patriotism is about.

“Any leader can fight poverty generationally by promoting education, improving healthcare, providing credit, and granting access to land.”

The Star