Shettima Attacks Peter Obi Over His Claims About Nigeria

(Vice President Kashim Shettima. Photo Credit: Punch News)

Vice President Kashim Shettima has attacked Peter Obi, calling him "the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions."

He spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council at the State House in Abuja.

Shettima called Obi "my very good friend," but he took a swipe at Obi's habit of comparing Nigeria with other countries, especially Bangladesh.

"He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria's size 52 frame," he said.

He said Nigeria cannot be run on borrowed statistics and economic ideas that ignore the country's own realities.

He said a nation of over 250 million people needs leaders who understand its social, economic and political context.

Shettima also said he respects Obi but accused him of making a bogus claim that he won the 2023 presidential election.

He said Obi has no evidence for it.

"This is called delusion of grandeur," Shettima said.

"Our contest is with the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow's deliverance."

Obi often uses Bangladesh in his criticism of the Tinubu government's economic management and its borrowing.

He ran for president in 2023 on the Labour Party ticket and finished third.

He went to court over the result, and the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in October 2023.

He is now running again, this time on the Nigeria Democratic Congress platform.

The APC will kick off its campaign in Kaduna on October 24.