Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has defended the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following criticism of his use of economic statistics and comparisons between Nigeria and other countries by Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
Kwankwaso maintained that most of the figures presented by Obi were accurate, questioning Shettima’s portrayal of the former Anambra State governor as someone who relies on questionable data and inconsistent economic proposals.
Shettima had criticised Obi on Wednesday during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.
During his remarks, the Vice-President described Obi as “my very good friend” but faulted his comparisons between Nigeria and other countries, particularly Bangladesh.
Shettima argued that Nigeria’s circumstances differed significantly from those of Bangladesh and questioned the suitability of applying lessons from the Asian country to Nigeria.
However, speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Kwankwaso defended Obi, saying his independent review of the statistics presented by the NDC presidential candidate had not revealed widespread inaccuracies.
“What else would you expect him to say?” Kwankwaso asked in response to Shettima’s comments.
The former Kano State governor explained that he regularly listened to Obi’s arguments and independently examined the figures he presented, adding that he considered most of the statistics reliable.
Kwankwaso acknowledged that people could occasionally make mistakes or misspeak but maintained that Shettima’s characterisation of Obi was unjustified.
He further described Obi’s knowledge of development indicators across different regions of the world as a valuable quality in a presidential candidate.
According to him, Obi’s familiarity with data relating to Nigeria, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world could benefit the country’s leadership.
Kwankwaso also attributed his decision to partner with Obi under the NDC to their shared vision for Nigeria.
He said their partnership was built on a common understanding of the country’s challenges and the importance of cooperation between political leaders from the North and South.
The former governor added that their shared objectives made it easier to agree on a joint political platform, with the aim of strengthening the party and contributing to Nigeria’s development.
