Omokri: Why Nigerians Should Trust Fitch Data, Not Peter Obi on Economy

Author and Public Affairs Commentator, Reno Omokri, yesterday urged Nigerians to trust recent data from Fitch Ratings, which upgraded the country’s economic standing to Stable B, rather than believe Peter Obi’s pessimistic views.

In a note, Omokri explained that contrary to recent comments by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, the country’s economy was gradually recovering.
“In the last 48 hours, Fitch Ratings upgraded Nigeria’s economy to a Stable B and cited the continued success of President Bola Tinubu’s reforms as the rationale for that improvement. This comes 48 hours after Peter Obi said Nigeria’s economy ‘has collapsed’.

“There could not be a better response to ‘Agbotikuyo Bitter’ Obi than Fitch Ratings, the world’s premier ratings agency. The last time Fitch adjusted our economic rating was on Friday, November 11, 2022, under General Muhammadu Buhari, when we were downgraded from a B to a B-.

“If you read the actual bulletin of the upgrade, Fitch listed the indication rate, which reduced seismically from 34.80 per cent to 24.48 per cent in February 2025. They also hinted at our new and improved net foreign reserve position, which increased from an all-time low of $3.99 billion under General Buhari in 2023 to $23.11 billion,’’ Omokri stated.
He added that the fact that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) declared a ‘record-breaking’ surplus of $6.83 billion for the fiscal year 2024, whereas the same bank reported a N488 billion ($1.7 billion) deficit in the first quarter of 2020, is a sign that Tinubu is doing well.

Additionally, he stated that Fitch traversed Nigeria’s 3.84 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2024, which he argued  was one of the world’s best.

“ Also taken into effect was the phenomenal increase in foreign exchange inflow, which went from $3.68 billion in the last quarter under Buhari to $27.81 billion in Q4, 2024. So, my question to Peter Obi is this: Can Agbotikuyo cite the data he has that led him to conclude that Nigeria’s economy has collapsed?” Omokri asked.