Vice President Kashim Shettima has told opposition elements that it would wrong for them to assume they could adapt foreign economic policies to government Nigeria.
Shettima said this on Wednesday in his comments at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign (APCPCC),in the Presidential Villa.
He was obviously responding to various economic measures being recommended for adoption by President Bola Tinubu to cushion hardship in the country.
According to him, the opposition elements failed to consider Nigeria’s*s population and other related variable for making such suggestions.
Defending Tinubu’s policies, Shettima insisted that the administration must be given time to consolidate its policies and translate their gains into jobs, improved livelihoods and stronger public services.
Taking a swipe at the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi’s frequent comparison of Nigeria with other countries, , Shettima said: “A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities.
He added that policies that worked in Bangladesh could not simply be transplanted to Nigeria without considering differences in population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances.
“I respect Peter Obi. But he has gone beyond his mastery of philosophy to make an august claim about winning the 2023 presidential election without adducing a shred of evidence to buttress his assertion,” Shettima said.
He described Obi as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions”, while comparing the challenge of applying foreign policies to Nigeria in trying to fit a garment designed for a smaller body onto a much larger one.
Responding to the former Vice President, Atiku Abibakar, Shettima said political ambition must be matched by character, discipline and an understanding of the responsibilities attached to public office.
He however added that political opponents should be treated with respect, describing them as fellow Nigerians rather than enemies.
“For the rest of the duration of this campaign, we’ll discuss ideas, we’ll discuss policies, but we’ll treat all our opponents with respect and dignity. They are not our enemies. They are our brothers. They are our countrymen. They are our leaders,” he said.
He warned APC campaigners against being drawn into exchanges of insults, urging them instead to respond to criticism with evidence and reason.
“We have the capacity to respond to all sorts of innuendos and outright lies that our political opponents are taking on, but we won’t fall into their traps. We’ll give them facts. We’ll give them statistics. We argue with reason, not with sentiments, not with exaggerated truth or fabricated lies,” he said
Shettima said the Tinubu administration had inherited an economy facing severe fiscal pressures and had taken difficult decisions, including removing the petrol subsidy and addressing distortions in the foreign exchange market.
He argued that the reforms were necessary to address longstanding economic challenges, while acknowledging the responsibility to ensure that their benefits reached Nigerians.
“The next obligation is to turn these gains into jobs, meaningful earnings and meaningful planning,” he said.
The Vice-President cited economic growth of 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026 as evidence of progress under the administration, although he acknowledged that improved economic indicators must translate into tangible benefits for citizens.
He maintained that the administration’s priority should be to protect the reforms, improve their implementation and ensure that public resources deliver results for households and businesses as he argued that Tinubu deserved a second term because the administration’s reform programme had gained momentum which the country could not afford it.
