Adesina No Threat to Tinubu's Administration, Says Presidency

The Presidency has dismissed any suggestion that President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, posed a political threat to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this on Tuesday evening while appearing as a guest on TVC’s ‘Beyond the Headlines’, which is hosted by Nifemi Oguntoye.

Speaking to insinuations that the outgoing President of the AfDB could be a threat to the Tinubu administration, Onanuga said “as a politician, I don’t consider Dr. Akinwumi a threat to this president or to our political party [All Progressives Congress].

“I don’t think he is a political threat. I said I was surprised that he made what I will consider as a non sequitur kind of argument or kind of conclusion.

“In Latin, you say it doesn’t follow; that, because GDP has fallen in 2025 so it means per capita income has fallen in 2025 does not mean that life, necessarily, was better in 1960 than now. That was the point I was making.

“I also said, as a politician, I don’t consider Dr Akinwumi a threat to this president or to our political party”, Onanuga said on Tuesday evening.

Adesina, in his keynote address, delivered on April 30, 2025, at the 20th anniversary dinner of Chapel Hill Denham, an investment firm, in Lagos, spoke on Nigeria’s GDP, noting that the current GDP per capita of $824 is lower than the $1,847 recorded in 1960.

He argued that the stark drop signaled that “Nigerians are now significantly worse off than they were 64 years ago.”

He argued that the reduction in income per capita highlighted "the severity of poverty and poor human development" affecting the country—a situation that needs immediate attention to unlock the nation's demographic advantages.

However, in his reaction to the AfDB boss’ conclusion, Onanuga in an earlier reaction on Sunday evening, suggested that Adesina’s assessment of Nigeria’s economic history was based on flawed reasoning and “grossly inaccurate” statistics.

According to him, World Bank archival data pegged Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 at a modest $93—far below the nearly $2,000 figure cited by the AfDB chief.

“Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives,” Onanuga said, arguing that economic analysis must factor in progress in life expectancy, education, infrastructure, and overall well-being.

The president's advisor suggested that Adesina’s remarks seemed more like political talk rather than an impartial economic analysis.

He highlighted the Tinubu administration’s ongoing investments in transportation infrastructure, education, and social programmes—initiatives that did not exist at the time of independence and are not reflected in GDP metrics alone.

He insisted that, when adjusted for purchasing power and quality-of-life indices, “Nigerians are certainly not worse off” than they were in 1960.

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. Syndigate.info ).

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