Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant to former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, said President Bola Tinubu is gaslighting poor Nigerians with “phony statistics.”

 

Shaibu expressed his dismay at the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, for allowing itself to become a political tool.

 

He demanded an explanation as to how Nigeria’s unemployment rate suddenly dropped from 33.3 percent to 5 percent after the NBS rebased.

 

Shaibu was reacting to an X post by Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, where he said in April 2024, during challenging times, President Tinubu “expressed confidence that conditions would improve, as evident today by the massive decline in inflation, particularly food inflation.”

 

“At the Ramadan dinner for the APC Presidential Campaign Council members on April 3, 2024, President Tinubu stated:

 

‘I campaigned on HOPE, and I am committed to delivering that HOPE. The economy is looking GOOD. Yes, we face inflationary challenges, but we will bring it down! We are reengineering, reclaiming our sovereignty, and restoring Nigeria’s respect on the global stage.'”

 

This comes as the NBS said inflation in Nigeria dropped to 24.48 percent.

 

However, Shaibu wondered how inflation dropped miraculously while the prices of commodities continued to rise.

 

Shaibu posted on X:

 

“Not done, the NBS decided to shift its focus to the inflation rate, which had been over 34%, the highest in over three decades. Rather than actually do the real work, Tinubu boasted at the budget presentation last December that the inflation rate in 2025 would drop to 15%, which every economist, including Bismark Rewane – who serves in his economic advisory committee – dismissed as overly optimistic.

 

“The attempt by the @officialABAT Presidency to gaslight Nigerians is appalling, to say the least. It is also nauseating that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which is mostly funded by the World Bank, has allowed itself to become a willing political tool.

 

“How do we explain it? At the start of the Tinubu Presidency, the unemployment rate was 33.3%. Suddenly, the NBS rebased unemployment figures and redefined employment to mean anyone who works for at least one hour a week. The NBS subsequently announced that the unemployment figure is now 5%, meaning Nigeria has nearly the same unemployment rate as the United States and the United Kingdom. How laughable!

 

“Not done, the NBS decided to shift its focus to the inflation rate, which had been over 34%, the highest in over three decades. Rather than actually do the real work, Tinubu boasted at the budget presentation last December that the inflation rate in 2025 would drop to 15%, which every economist, including Bismark Rewane – who serves in his economic advisory committee – dismissed as overly optimistic.

 

“However, the NBS came again with its abracadabra by rebasing the Consumer Price Index. The result? Inflation is now 24.48%. Inflation drops miraculously while prices continue to rise, including just last week when all Telcos increased their call tariffs by 50%, and some increased data services by as high as 200%.

 

“In the coming weeks, the GDP, which is now about $200bn after over 73% devaluation of the naira, is also going to see a miraculous increase. Already, APC supporters are projecting that the GDP will exceed $600bn, which will boost Tinubu’s dream of a $1tn economy.

 

“This is all going on while poverty is worsening and items like rent, school fees, call tariffs, electricity tariffs, and transportation costs are all rising. The question remains, are Nigerians better off today than they were on May 29, 2023, when the Tinubu administration took over? The answer is a resounding NO.

 

“It is disheartening that since Yemi Kale exited the NBS, the new leadership has lost its credibility and has allowed itself to succumb to political manipulation and intimidation, such that even its website is hardly functional.

 

“Rather than gaslight poor Nigerians with phony statistics, Tinubu and his ilk should learn a lesson from Sri Lanka, which was putting out fake statistics about its inflation and debt profile. The result was an unprecedented economic crisis, which also eroded investor confidence.”