Debate: You cannot shut economy to fight corruption – Peter Obi
Eniola Akinkuotu
The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the anti-corruption war of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government, insisting that it killed jobs in the process.
Obi said this at the Vice-Presidential debate organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Elections Debate Group.
He argued that war against graft cannot be a government policy but a means to an end.
The former governor said before the current anti-graft campaign, Nigeria had more jobs and opportunities but the economy took a nosedive when the anti-corruption war started
Obi said, “It is not that you cannot fight corruption but you can fight it more aggressively while addressing economic issues. For example, in 2015, unemployment was 24 percent. Today, it is 40 per cent. In 2015, we attracted $21bn in Foreign Direct Investment but we attracted only $12bn last year. Our GDP was $500bn in 2015 while per capita was $2, 500 today it is under $1, 900.
“If you look at our stock market, we have lost over N2tn in one year. So, that is not a policy. You’re just fighting corruption, you are not creating jobs. You cannot shut down your shop and be chasing criminals.”
The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the anti-corruption war of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government, insisting that it killed jobs in the process.
Obi said this at the Vice-Presidential debate organised by the Broadcast Organisation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Elections Debate Group.
He argued that war against graft cannot be a government policy but a means to an end.
The former governor said before the current anti-graft campaign, Nigeria had more jobs and opportunities but the economy took a nosedive when the anti-corruption war started
Obi said, “It is not that you cannot fight corruption but you can fight it more aggressively while addressing economic issues. For example, in 2015, unemployment was 24 percent. Today, it is 40 per cent. In 2015, we attracted $21bn in Foreign Direct Investment but we attracted only $12bn last year. Our GDP was $500bn in 2015 while per capita was $2, 500 today it is under $1, 900.
“If you look at our stock market, we have lost over N2tn in one year. So, that is not a policy. You’re just fighting corruption, you are not creating jobs. You cannot shut down your shop and be chasing criminals.”
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