The Economist supports Peter Obi in 2023, says only him offers Nigerians hope of real change

The prestigious London-based newspaper The Economist has declared that Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, is the best option for Nigeria with six days until the 2023 presidential election.

The highly regarded international newspaper referred to Obi as “a sprightly 61-year-old,” while Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, was referred to as “an old-school politician who, at 70 years old, is unlikely to shake things up.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar was also compared to Tinubu by The Economist, who emphasized that “the former vice president has grandiose ideas for industrialization and one million new police officers but no plan for how to pay for them.”
In an article titled “Nigeria desperately needs a new kind of leadership”, The Economist said: “Obi, a sprightly 61-year-old former state governor who is leading in the polls, offers an alternative.

“Most striking, he has urged people not to vote along ethnic or religious lines, but to favour competence.

“Should they do so, it would mark a radical shift in Nigerian politics. He has also warned his supporters they should expect no money in return for their votes.

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“Obi talks of supporting business, freer trade, and getting a grip on Nigeria’s mounting debts. He diagnoses the country’s failings more precisely than his rivals, though he is not much better at explaining how he would fix them.

“His promises to scrap the staggeringly wasteful petrol subsidy and rationalize the central bank’s many exchange rates are echoed by his opponents.

“Obi is not entirely a new broom. He was Abubakar’s vice-presidential running-mate in 2019 before switching parties.

“He has faced questions over undeclared offshore assets. (He says he earned the money in question before he took office as governor.)

“Even if he wins, his Labour Party is very unlikely to gain a majority in the national assembly, so governing will be hard.
“But he is the only candidate to offer Nigerians much hope of change.

“In a country that has been badly and repeatedly failed by its leaders, he is easily the best choice,” the newspaper stated.

The Economist said Nigeria has been cursed with bad rulers but Obi, “a third-party presidential candidate, offers a measure of hope”.

According to the medium, “Africa’s most populous country is in desperate need of it (hope). The economy, the continent’s biggest, bursts with youthful potential — half the country is 18 years old or younger.

“A flourishing Nigeria would boost the whole of Africa. Instead, it is dragging it down.

“Nigerians are poorer now than they were in 2015, when the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, took over.

“At least 60 million (and rising) survive on less than the equivalent of $2.15 per day. Buhari’s protectionist policies have made things worse.

“In addition, the country is beset by violence,” it stated.

EFCC debunks recovery of N400bn from Tinubu’s house

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has dismissed reports circulating across the social media that its operatives raided the home of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu and recovered N400 billion.

This was contained in a statement on Sunday by Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, Head, Media and Publicity, of the commission.

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According to online reports, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered EFCC to raid Tinubu’s house and N400billion of the new naira notes were recovered in his underground tunnel cum bank vault.

But the anti-corruption agency in the statement titled “EFCC Did Not Raid Tinubu’s Home”, said no such operation was carried out by its operatives.

Uwujaren said: “The attention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been drawn to a report circulating in the social media, claiming that operatives of the Commission raided the home of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the forthcoming presidential elections and recovered a humongous sum of N400billion.

“The Commission wishes to state that no such operation was carried out by the EFCC. The public is enjoined to disregard the report as fake news”.