The Nigerian Presidency has dismissed claims made by African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina that Nigerians were economically better off in 1960 than in 2025.
In a public response, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described Adesina’s figures on per capita income as incorrect and misleading.
Adesina had stated that Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1,847 at independence but had dropped to $824 in 2025.
The Presidency said these claims do not align with official economic records. Citing data from the World Bank, Onanuga noted that Nigeria’s per capita income in 1960 was $93.17, with a national GDP of $4.2 billion.
According to the statement, Nigeria’s economic growth did not accelerate until the early 1970s when oil revenue expanded the national budget.
By 1980, GDP had risen to $64.2 billion and per capita income rose above $2,100 in 1981 during the peak of the oil boom.
Onanuga said the country’s GDP climbed to $164 billion in 1981 and that economic expansion was recorded during the rebasing exercise in 2014 when GDP reached a peak of $514 billion.
The Presidency argued that GDP per capita cannot be used as the sole indicator of national welfare as the metric does not reflect improvements in education, healthcare, transport and digital access.
Onanuga said Nigeria now has thousands of primary and secondary schools, more tertiary institutions and expanded access to electricity and telecommunications compared to 1960.
He referenced the growth of mobile network infrastructure, noting that Nigeria had fewer than 20,000 telephone lines at independence, compared to over 200 million active mobile lines today.
He also cited MTN Nigeria’s recent performance, including ₦1 trillion in first-quarter 2025 revenue and 84 million active subscribers as an indication of increased consumer activity.
The Presidency also challenged the relevance of historical per capita metrics in judging present-day quality of life, stating that foreign companies once assumed Nigerians could not afford digital services based on GDP data.
It said that assumption proved incorrect as telecom and banking penetration expanded rapidly in the last two decades.
Onanuga said the government welcomes constructive feedback but emphasized the need for accurate data in public discourse.
He said comparisons with 1960 must consider structural changes in population size, national income composition and access to basic services.
The Presidency concluded that while challenges remain, it is inaccurate to suggest that Nigerians were better off economically at independence than in 2025.
