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By: Phillip Anjorin, Praise Cole and Lademi Aborisade
Following Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms and their impact on the nation, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, was on Arise News to discuss the state of the country amidst the current economic dispensation.
The controversial activist also reflected on the upcoming Osun State gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
Below are some of the claims Sowore made during the conversation.
Claim 1: Nigeria’s economy was rebased under the Jonathan administration and became larger than South Africa’s economy
Verdict: True
In 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) officially updated the baseline reference year used to calculate economic output from 1990 to 2010. The exercise, which occurred under the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, rebased the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to align national methodology with international standards.
Integrating some fast-growing industries like telecommunications, real estate and others into the formal national output framework surged Nigeria’s nominal economy from $270 billion to $510 billion. Nigeria’s economy, at $510 billion after the rebasing exercise, surpassed South Africa’s output within the period, which was around $370 billion. However, South Africa possessed superior industrial infrastructure, a deeper financial market and a higher per-capita income. Nigeria only ranked higher in aggregate nominal GDP.
Claim 2: South Africa’s economy is currently bigger than Nigeria’s economy
Verdict: True
Recent macroeconomic shocks, currency adjustments and structural challenges have reduced Nigeria’s comparative dollar-denominated GDP, despite another rebasing exercise in mid-2025. As of April 2026, data from the International Monetary Fund placed South Africa ($480 billion) as Africa’s largest economy in nominal US dollar terms ahead of Egypt ($430 billion) and Nigeria ($377 billion).
Claim 3: Sowore claims the FAO lists Nigeria among countries facing food shortages in 2026. It is also the only oil-producing country on the list.
Verdict: Partly True
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in the latest edition of its Hunger Hotspots report, identified Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Palestine as the world’s most critical hunger hotspots.
Nigeria was listed due to the possibility of severe acute food insecurity in Borno State, while Somalia was listed due to the risk of famine.
However, Nigeria is not the only oil-producing country on the list, as Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen are also oil-producing states.
Claim 4: Sowore claimed Nigeria has over 140 million people who are “multidimensionally poor”
Verdict: Misleading.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 62.9% of Nigerians, about 133 million people, were multidimensionally poor. The survey was conducted between November 2021 and February 2022. The official figure is 133 million, not over 140 million.
It is important to note that multidimensional poverty is not the same as monetary poverty. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) assesses several forms of deprivation, including health, education, living standards, employment and shocks, rather than simply whether someone falls below a monetary poverty line.
