A member of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Pedro Obaseki, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of worsening poverty in Nigeria, claiming that Nigerians are almost 700 per cent poorer since the president assumed office in May 2023.
Obaseki made the claim during an interview with ARISE News on Monday, following comments by the chairman of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, that the party had come to rescue Nigeria.
“Nigerians today are more or less almost 700% poorer than the way the day before the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came into office.
He said the ADC had come to rescue Nigeria from what he described as “the poverty of the pocket, the poverty of the mind, and the semi-arrested development of the entire Nigerian polity.”
“This campaign is about the affordability of the common man, by the common man. And our administration, our campaign, is to ensure that Nigerians become more human than we were prior to the spread of the spreadsheets.”
Turning to Wike’s remarks, Obaseki dismissed the FCT minister’s claim that he had secured the FCT and Rivers State for Tinubu, insisting that the 2027 election would be decided by Nigerians’ economic realities rather than political declarations.
“This election is beyond Wike. This election is beyond those intimidating rhetorics. Wike is locking down the FCT, is locking down Rivers State. Those are his own personal declarations. But the average man in the FCT and the man in Rivers State, his pocket speaks to him daily, not Wike.
“This is going to be different. Different because on the 29th of May, the year of our Lord 2023, as far as I was concerned—as I am concerned—Nigeria died. And what we are doing now is trying to resuscitate that country, that body. And it must be done irrespective of the threats being banded in the public space by persons who seem to be above the law.”
He also criticised the Tinubu administration over the rising cost of petrol and declining purchasing power, citing the International Monetary Fund’s reported poverty figures and the World Bank’s multidimensional poverty estimates. Obaseki urged Nigerians to assess the government based on its policies, performance and impact on household welfare since assuming office.
“What has the government of the day—the APC-led government of the day—done to the average Nigerian man? The streets are crying today. It is almost the very breathing of the entire Nigerian electoral question today, and that is the subsidy, the price of petrol, the price of energy. And it has impoverished everybody, irrespective of what part of the divide you are, irrespective of your geopolitical position, your tribe, your gender, your religious persuasion, irrespective—so long as you are a Nigerian.
“Particularly when just a few moments ago, the IMF has just said that 83% of Nigerians have now gone below the poverty line. Not to talk about the World Bank’s 70-something million who are now entrapped in what they call multi-dimensional poverty.
“So what we should be looking at is scoring this government on their performance, scoring this government on their policies, scoring this government on the household welfare of the average Nigerian since they came in. And when we do that, there’s no jobbery. When we do that, it is simple. The math is clear, the arithmetic is clear.”
Acknowledging the division within the opposition, Dr Obaseki maintained that the ADC remained confident of its chances in the 2027 election, projecting that its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, could win 24 states based on its assessment of the 2023 election results and subsequent political realignments.
“I agree with you in the sense that there are two—similarly, two or a couple of more opposition parties. That is clear. But there are also defections the other way around. But I want to stick to the fact that defections don’t change the electoral map.
“Our construction is clear: that to win is first past the post and 25% in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation. Now they have come up with our 20, which is their own internal projection. Ours is a lot more than that. Ours is 24.”
On the experience of Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, Obaseki described the ticket as balanced, citing their political experience, capacity and national reach.
He also defended Atiku’s economic agenda, arguing that the ADC campaign was focused on policies and practical solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges, particularly petrol pricing and the need to support domestic production rather than rely on imported petroleum products.
“When you look at the ticket critically, apart from capacity, ability, national reach, it also is the most balanced ticket—it’s a ticket of balance.
“And if we look at His excellency the right honorable Rotimi Amaechi from the South-South, what he brings to the table is clear. We have a man who till now, whether we like it or not, have been able to navigate the political space.
“Look at Atiku Abubakar. Atiku Abubakar from 2019, when I’ve been with him, has always had a very clear picture in his covenant with Nigerians in 2023 and what we are having now.
“When we look at what is happening in the public space is basically trying to bring down in terms of the economic policies of Atiku Abubakar. While at the back-end borrowing the same—the very, the very same economic theories. Now, why I’m saying this is: we criticized Tinubu, and when we criticized Tinubu, we put side-by-side, pari passu, the theories that will take us from where he has taken us to where we should be. And I think that is where we should credit Atiku for having a very purposeful policy and issue-driven campaign.”
Addressing his alleged abduction and assault in Benin City, Edo State, Obaseki said he pursued justice through local and international institutions, including Amnesty International, the United Nations and the United States government. He said he eventually agreed not to collect the ₦500 million judgment awarded in his favour following an intervention by Edo’s traditional institutions, adding that he hoped his experience would help prevent similar human rights violations in the state.
“When that happened, in spite of the psychosomatic breakdown and the psychological trauma, I saw it as an experience that will change the very debilitating human rights narrative in Nigeria. And I went from Nigeria, Amnesty International, I went to the European courts, I went to the United States government, I went to the UN Reporter for Human Rights. I did all that, and I got Femi Falana and my family, my united Obaseki worldwide, to join me in prosecuting this to a very logical conclusion.
“It took time for us to aggregate that they should even pay me 500 million, and I had sued even the DSS and Co. But while pursuing justice, I also was approached by the entire Edo traditional setup, which included persons I couldn’t turn down. And when we had the meeting, I had to agree to let the judgment stay, which had been executed. So I didn’t extract the 500 million from anybody in the end.
“And then the most important part of it is, it will never happen again, at least within my state, that I can assure you.”
On concerns about possible violence during ADC campaigns in Edo State, Obaseki dismissed threats of intimidation, saying he believed such remarks were intended to scare opposition supporters. He cited a town hall meeting he moderated with Atiku Abubakar in Benin City three days earlier, which he said took place peacefully, and maintained that Nigerians must move beyond political threats.
“So when I hear all those on printed rhetoric, I feel sorry for their mental state—that the mental state of those who are even originated and originated initial. So I’m calm. Just three days ago, I moderated a town hall meeting with Atiku Abubakar in Benin, in a very epicenter of the capital, and not a fly flinched. So I know that they’re just doing that to scare people. But at the end of the day, Nigerians will have to move beyond that.”
He concluded by expressing confidence that Atiku Abubakar would emerge as Nigeria’s next president in 2027, describing the election as a defining moment for the country.
“The election in 2027 is going to be a watershed moment for Nigeria, and I know that whether you look the or you throw the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is His Excellency Atiku Abubakar.”
Favour Odima
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