The Presidency has faulted the recent claim by Akinwumi Adesina on Nigeria’s GDP per capita.
The Presidency has refuted recent claims by Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, concerning Nigeria’s economic performance. Adesina had asserted that Nigeria’s GDP per capita dropped from $1,847 in 1960 to $824 in 2025, indicating economic regression.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed the figures as misleading. “Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned,” he said. He cited official data showing Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, with a per capita income of $93, rising to $3,200 in 2014.
Onanuga questioned Adesina’s methodology: “GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards.” He added, “Dr Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement.”