Peter Obi is criticized by Sanwo-Olu for remarks he made on poverty at a U.S. university.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has criticized former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, accusing him of lacking the moral authority to speak on poverty in Nigeria. Sanwo-Olu, in a personally signed statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University”, alleged that Obi contributed to the poverty situation in Nigeria during his tenure as Anambra State governor.

The Lagos governor’s comments followed Obi’s recent remarks at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where Obi compared Nigeria’s poverty levels unfavorably with those of China and Vietnam. Obi had noted that while Nigeria had fewer poor people than China and Vietnam in 1990, it failed to achieve the rapid economic growth recorded by these countries due to poor leadership and lack of investment in critical sectors like education and healthcare.

Obi argued, “The question then is, what exactly did these countries do to achieve the desired growth and development? That is where political leadership comes in.” However, responding to the speech, Sanwo-Olu accused Obi of “de-marketing” Nigeria abroad, insisting that prominent citizens should promote the country positively on international platforms, irrespective of their political leanings. “On Thursday, April 24, 2025, former Governor Peter Obi made several disparaging comments about Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University. While criticism of government policies is fair, denigrating the country itself is unpatriotic,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Focusing on Obi’s comments on poverty, Sanwo-Olu questioned the former Anambra governor’s record, arguing that Obi failed to significantly invest in education, healthcare, or credit facilities during his time in office. “It is ironic that a man who did not build a single school or a standalone hospital throughout his eight years as governor, nor sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise a government that is actively doing so,” he stated.

Sanwo-Olu pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s record of building over 200 schools, providing loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates, and disbursing over half a billion dollars in credit to small businesses as Lagos state governor. Citing statistics, Sanwo-Olu alleged that poverty worsened under Obi’s leadership in Anambra. According to him, the state’s poverty rate rose from 41.4% when Obi assumed office in 2007 to 53.7% within two years.

He noted that Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, later reduced poverty to 14.8%, suggesting that Obi’s leadership had failed to address poverty effectively. He said: “Given these facts, Mr. Obi is hardly in a position to lecture anyone about fighting poverty. “Governor Tinubu lifted millions out of poverty in Lagos, and he is well on his way to doing the same for Nigeria. The best predictor of the future is the past.”Sanwo-Olu urged Nigerian leaders to be more patriotic when addressing international audiences, adding that national pride should transcend political affiliations.