Vice President Kashim Shettima has criticised opposition presidential candidates Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar over their economic proposals and comments about President Bola Tinubu.
Shettima made the remarks on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja.
The Vice President described Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions”, accusing him of relying on foreign comparisons without adequately considering Nigeria’s circumstances.
He also questioned Obi’s assertion that he won the 2023 presidential election, describing it as a “delusion of grandeur”.
“I respect Mr Obi, but he has gone beyond his mastery of philosophy to make bogus claims about winning the 2023 presidential elections without adducing a shred of evidence to buttress his assertion,” Shettima said.
Shettima faults Obi’s comparison of Nigeria with Bangladesh
The Vice President took issue with Obi’s frequent comparisons between Nigeria and Bangladesh, arguing that economic policies cannot be transferred from one country to another without considering differences in population, institutions and economic structures.
Using a clothing-size analogy, Shettima said Obi appeared convinced that a shirt tailored for Bangladesh would fit Nigeria despite the countries’ differing circumstances.
“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities,” he said.
Shettima added that effective governance required an understanding of a country's social, economic, political and institutional realities.
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, finished third behind Tinubu and Atiku. He challenged the result in court, but the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal and upheld Tinubu’s victory in October 2023.
Obi is now seeking the presidency under the NDC ahead of the 2027 general election.
‘You can call him Bola’ – Shettima tackles Atiku
Shettima also criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his repeated references to Tinubu by his first name, Bola.
He insisted that regardless of how Atiku chose to address the President, Tinubu remained Nigeria’s President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
“Those who come through equity must come with clean hands. You can call him ‘Bola’. If you like, you can call him ‘Adekunle’. But the truth is that he is the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
Shettima said he would continue to address Atiku respectfully by his former title, adding that he would not follow the example of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, who has referred to Atiku as “Kachalla”.
The Vice President also questioned Atiku’s repeated attempts to become President, saying the former presidential candidate was “no Abraham Lincoln” but was more like “Oginga Odinga”.
“Atiku Abubakar, who has been contesting for the presidency of the country for the eighth time, is no Abraham Lincoln. He’s more of Oginga Odinga,” Shettima said.
The comments form part of the APC’s preparations for the 2027 presidential election, with the party scheduled to commence its presidential campaign in Kaduna on October 24.
Shettima’s remarks highlight the intensifying exchanges between the ruling party and opposition figures as political activities ahead of the election gather momentum.
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