By Peter Omopo
The Presidency on Tuesday dismissed any suggestion that President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, poses a political threat to the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking during an appearance on TVC’s Beyond the Headlines programme, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the government does not view Adesina, a former Nigerian minister and international development economist, as a rival or political challenger.
“As a politician, I don’t consider Dr. Akinwumi a threat to this president or to our political party,” Onanuga said.
He also responded to Adesina’s recent remarks at a policy forum in Abuja, where the AfDB president claimed that Nigeria’s GDP per capita had declined from $1,847 in 1960 to approximately $824 today—asserting that Nigerians were now “significantly worse off” than they were 64 years ago.
Onanuga criticised the assertion, calling it a “non sequitur,” and argued that a fall in GDP per capita does not necessarily equate to a lower quality of life than in the past.
“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,” he added.
Adesina’s comments have stirred public debate amid Nigeria’s current economic challenges, but the Presidency insists the remarks hold no political implications for the current administration.
