Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched a sharp attack on the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, accusing the former Anambra State governor of lacking actionable economic solutions and offering nothing to the nation beyond reciting statistics.
​Addressing an audience of policymakers and business executives on Monday, October 26, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja during the opening session of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES32), Vice President Shettima urged economic experts to rally behind the fiscal policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
​The Vice President told delegates that governance requires a deep understanding of local context rather than reliance on cross-country data comparisons.
While acknowledging Obi’s public stance on petrol subsidies, Shettima contended that the opposition candidate’s economic approach lacks practical substance. He appealed directly to the nation’s financial leadership to support the current administration’s structural reforms instead of leaning on foreign models.
​The summit remarks follow earlier statements made by the Vice President on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.
At that event, Shettima characterised Obi as a “master of bogus statistics” and criticised his frequent economic comparisons between Nigeria and Asian economies such as Bangladesh.
​Using a garment analogy to illustrate his point, the Vice President remarked that Obi appears convinced a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh can somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame.
He emphasized that effective governance demands a mastery of social, political, and institutional contexts, arguing that a nation of over 250 million people cannot be managed through borrowed statistics that ignore local realities.
​Shettima also addressed the administration’s policy choices regarding the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. He outlined comparative fuel pricing across the West African sub-region to demonstrate market dynamics, pointing out that petrol sells for approximately $0.85 per litre (₦1,148.36) in Niger Republic, $1.28 per litre (₦1,729.29) in Benin Republic, and $1.44 per litre (₦1,945.45) in Cameroon, compared to Nigeria’s market-reflective rate of roughly ₦1,399 per litre.
He maintained that unadjusted prices in past years incentivised cross-border smuggling, whereas current market pricing addresses long-standing structural distortions.
​In a statement issued following the summit session, Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), confirmed that the Vice President’s address reflected the administration’s commitment to substantive economic policy over political rhetoric.
Representatives from the NDC campaign organisation responded by defending their candidate, asserting that data-driven analysis and economic benchmarking remain fundamental to national planning and public accountability.
