Tinubu Supporters Who Had Businesses Are Now Selling Kuli-Kuli, Peter Obi Claims
- Peter Obi has argued that worsening economic conditions have forced many former business owners to struggle to survive
- The former presidential candidate has claimed more Nigerians now support him after assessing the Tinubu administration's performance
- Obi has criticised the government's "Renewed Hope" agenda, saying Nigerians should judge it by their daily experiences
Former Anambra state governor Peter Obi has claimed that Nigerians who backed President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election and were running businesses at the time have since lost those businesses to economic hardship.
Obi made the remarks in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, published on Wednesday, July 8, while responding to suggestions that the movement behind his 2023 presidential campaign had lost momentum.
He rejected that characterisation outright, arguing his support base had in fact grown as Nigerians compared their expectations from the last election to the reality of governance under the Tinubu administration.
Source: Facebook
"Those who jumped into, in quotes, some experiential thing, 'Oh, this man did this, this man did this', I was going to create the future. I've seen that the whole thing was a mess," Obi said.
'Renewed Hope has become hopelessness' - Obi
Obi pointed to what he described as a wave of business closures since Tinubu took office, with former business owners now left to fend for themselves through petty trading.
"Those who had business when he came into power have collapsed. They are now the people who are selling kuli-kuli?" he said.
He challenged the government's ability to defend its own record, saying no credible case could be made that Nigeria was moving in a positive direction.
"Nobody, nobody can tell you things are moving well. What are they going to do now?" he asked.
Obi also took direct aim at the administration's signature "Renewed Hope" agenda, saying the phrase had been emptied of meaning.
"It had become hopelessness when President Tinubu came into power," he said.
Source: Twitter
Obi cites poverty and hunger figures
The former governor leaned on statistics to reinforce his argument, stating that the number of Nigerians living in poverty had worsened significantly and that the country's position on global hunger rankings had declined.
"Eighty-seven million Nigerians were living in poverty. Today, it's one-fourth," he said, adding: "We were number five below where we are today in hunger list. We've increased."
Obi said insecurity and economic strain were no longer distant policy concerns but visible, everyday realities for ordinary Nigerians.
"Everything has gotten worse. Like I said before, we're no longer talking of ghosts walking around. You can see where we've gotten," he said.
He closed that line of argument with a pointed verdict on the administration's record: "Which hope are they going to renew again? You can't renew failure, and that's it."
Watch clip below:
Peter Obi raises fears ahead of 2027
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi alleged that he was being targeted by the APC-led federal government, saying he feared he might not be alive for the 2027 election.
Speaking during an interview, Obi claimed his business activities were being frustrated and recounted incidents he believed reflected political pressure, including encounters at an airport and before a social event.
Source: Legit.ng
