Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has disagreed with Vice-President Kashim Shettima over his criticism of Peter Obi’s use of economic statistics and comparisons between Nigeria and other countries.
Kwankwaso maintained that most of the figures presented by Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, were accurate, questioning Shettima’s portrayal of him 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.
In 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, Kwankwaso defended his principal during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, saying his review of the figures cited by the former Anambra State governor had not revealed widespread inaccuracies.
“What else would you expect him to say?” Kwankwaso asked, reacting to Shettima’s remarks.
He explained that he regularly listened to Obi’s arguments and independently examined the statistics he presented, adding that he considered most of the figures reliable.
Kwankwaso acknowledged that people could occasionally make mistakes or misspeak but argued that Shettima’s characterisation of Obi was unjustified.
The former Kano State governor further said Obi’s knowledge of development indicators across different regions of the world was a valuable quality in a presidential candidate.
He expressed confidence in Obi’s familiarity with data relating to Nigeria, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, describing such knowledge as beneficial to the country’s leadership.
Kwankwaso also said the similarities between their visions for Nigeria influenced their decision to work together under the NDC.
According to him, their partnership was based on a shared understanding of the country’s needs and the importance of cooperation between political leaders from the North and South.
He said their common objectives made it easier to agree on a joint political platform, with the aim of strengthening the party and contributing to Nigeria’s development.
Kwankwaso defends Obi over Shettima’s ‘bogus statistics’ jibe