The Presidency has faulted recent comments by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in which he reportedly claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than they were at the time of the country’s independence in 1960.

Responding in a statement posted on Sunday via his verified X handle, Presidential Spokesperson, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, described Adesina’s assertion as based on inaccurate economic data and a narrow interpretation of Nigeria’s economic history.

Dr. Adesina, while speaking at a public function last week, reportedly cited figures sourced from Nairametrics suggesting that Nigeria’s GDP per capita stood at $1,847 in 1960, compared to $824 in the present day. The AfDB president used this comparison to argue that the economic wellbeing of Nigerians had significantly deteriorated over the decades.

However, Onanuga challenged both the source and the accuracy of the figures, stating that available official data painted a much different picture.

“According to available data, our country’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93—ninety-three, not even one hundred dollars,” he stated. “Our GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned.”

Onanuga further pointed to advances in telecommunication, technology, and social infrastructure to underscore the scale of Nigeria’s transformation since independence.

“Does this MTN experience correlate with a country worse off than in 1960, when we had analogue telephones and the number of lines was fewer than 20,000?” he queried.

He concluded by stating that Nigeria’s economic growth is undeniable, noting that the country’s GDP has expanded significantly since independence.

“Today, as we await the National Bureau of Statistics’ recalibration of our GDP, we can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence,” he said.