The Presidency has faulted the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, over his comment that Nigerians were better off in 1960 than they are today.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, stated that Adesina “spoke like a politician” in the mold of the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, without doing due diligence.
“Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mold of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” Onanuga said.
It was reported that Adesina while delivering a keynote address at the 20th-anniversary dinner of Chapel Hill Denham, stated that Nigerians today were worse off than they were in 1960.
He backed his claims with data that Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 was $1,847 and that it is $824 today.
Onanuga, however, countered the claim stating that the quoted figures were incorrect, adding that Nigeria’s GDP as of 1960 was $4.2 billion, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not $100.
He said, “A few days ago, outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina claimed that Nigerians today are worse off than in 1960, basing his conclusion on figures that do not align with available data.”
Onanuga further added that Adesina should note that DDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past.
Credit: channelstv.com
