Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant to former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for allegedly misleading Nigerians with what he described as “phony statistics”.
Shaibu also accused the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of becoming a political tool, questioning how Nigeria’s unemployment rate reportedly dropped from 33.3% to 5% after the agency rebased its methodology.
His reaction followed a statement by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, who claimed that Nigeria’s economy was improving under the president’s leadership. Onanuga cited a speech from April 2024, in which Tinubu assured Nigerians that inflation and other economic challenges would be addressed. The NBS recently reported a decline in inflation to 24.48%, a figure Shaibu dismissed as unrealistic.
He expressed skepticism over the figures, pointing out that despite claims of reduced inflation, the cost of essential goods and services, such as food, rent, school fees, and transportation continued to rise.
Shaibu also criticized the NBS for allegedly redefining employment to include individuals working as little as one hour per week, which he argued falsely lowered the unemployment rate. He warned that manipulating economic data could damage investor confidence, likening Nigeria’s situation to Sri Lanka’s past economic crisis.
“The attempt by the Tinubu administration to gaslight Nigerians is appalling,” Shaibu stated, urging the government to focus on real economic solutions rather than what he described as statistical manipulation.
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