Former presidential media aide, Reno Omokri, has declared that President Bola Tinubu is performing far better than Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Wednesday, Omokri praised Tinubu’s economic policies and said the president showed political courage that Obi could not have mustered.
His words: “I still hold the view that President Tinubu is by far better than anything Peter Obi would have done.
“When it comes to specifics, particularly fuel subsidy removal, President Tinubu acted immediately. Meanwhile, Obi had earlier said he would do the same.”
He referenced Obi’s past interview on the same programme, in which the former Anambra governor declared he would remove fuel subsidy if elected.
“So, what did the president do? He removed it on day one. Would Peter Obi have done it differently?” Omokri asked.
Defending Tinubu’s economic approach, Omokri pointed to endorsements from global financial bodies.
“The World Bank and IMF commended the move. Even if we dismiss them as neocolonial bodies, what about Moody’s and Fitch? Fitch, the world’s top credit rating agency, upgraded Nigeria’s rating to B-positive because of these reforms,” he said.
Omokri credited the Tinubu administration with reducing Nigeria’s debt from $108 billion to $94 billion, attributing it to increased revenue from subsidy removal and naira floatation.
“Federal allocations to states have significantly increased, in some cases doubled or tripled. This has allowed both the federal and state governments to reduce debt,” he said.
He also criticised Obi’s legacy in Anambra, claiming that he was the only governor in the last 26 years to increase poverty in the state.
“The governors before and after him didn’t record such statistics. He lacks the moral authority to speak on these issues,” he said.
Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, citing the absence of budgetary provisions and the policy’s unsustainability.
Peter Obi has since criticised the implementation of the subsidy removal, not its intent.
