Watch: Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi on his plans to transform Nigeria’s economy
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi talks to the media at a campaign rally in Warri, Nigeria, April 3, 2019.
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi talks to the media at a campaign rally in Warri, Nigeria, April 3, 2019.
Photo: Koying Seng
Photo: Koying Seng
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Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi talks to the media at a campaign rally in Warri, Nigeria, April 3, 2019.
Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi talks to the media at a campaign rally in Warri, Nigeria, April 3, 2019.
Photo: Koying Seng
Nigeria’s Peter Obi seeks to re-build the country’s economy
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WARRI, Nigeria — Peter Obi is the most visible face of a country struggling to emerge from the devastation of violence.
His supporters call him the country’s “economic magician,” a leader who will steer Nigeria’s economy out of a morass that has lasted for more than a decade.
But if he wins Monday’s election to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, Obi’s challenge will be how to transform the economy from its present state.
A former military officer, Obi is running for the presidency on a platform of reversing the country’s economic decline.
Obi, 61, came out of retirement in 2007 to challenge Buhari’s administration. By the time he ran for president, the economy had been battered by 18 years of war, but has been making slow, halting recovery ever since.
The economy has fallen into the doldrums, with gross domestic product falling nearly 9 percent in four years, and the jobless rate hitting 25 percent in April, the highest in a decade. Inflation is the worst in 50 years, driven by a sharp rise in the costs of food and fuel.
Obi’s economic plan is in line with the platform of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who called for a