Shettima Takes Fresh Swipe at Peter Obi

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has launched a fresh verbal assault on Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, insisting that the former Anambra State governor has little to offer Nigerians beyond his reliance on economic statistics.

Shettima made the remarks at an event in Abuja on Monday, where he appealed to members of Nigeria’s economic community to rally behind the Federal Government’s policies and defended the removal of the petrol subsidy.

“I respect Peter Obi for having the courage to say he is not going to restore the petrol subsidy, but beyond spouting some statistics, Mr Peter Obi has absolutely nothing to offer,” the Vice-President declared.

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“He was surviving on various statistics, so I call on you, the crème de la crème of the Nigerian economic community, to support us,” he added.

The Vice-President also drew comparisons between petrol prices in Nigeria and those in neighbouring countries, arguing that the figures illustrated the consequences of the country’s previous fuel pricing regime.

“What is the price of fuel in our neighbouring communities? A few years ago, Nigeria was consuming around 67 million litres of fuel per day,” he recalled.

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“Now, in Niger Republic, a litre of fuel goes for approximately N1,148.36, in Benin Republic it goes for N1,729.29, and in Cameroon it goes for N1,945.50; in our country, it goes for N1,390,” Shettima stated.

“The comparison is wide. Nigeria was Christmas for other African countries,” he concluded.

The remarks come against the backdrop of continuing political contention over petrol subsidy removal and its economic consequences, with Obi and other opposition figures repeatedly faulting aspects of the Federal Government’s management of the economy.

Obi, who governed Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, has frequently invoked economic indicators and public expenditure figures to challenge government policies, while advocating transparency, fiscal discipline and accountability in public administration.

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Shettima’s latest attack also echoes his previous criticism of Obi, whom he once described as a “master of bogus statistics” at a political event in Abuja, in a long-running exchange between the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition figures since the 2023 presidential election.

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