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Richest man globally, Elon Musk has said Nigeria alone had four million more births than the entire European Union.

Musk made the claim on his X account on Saturday, citing his artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, as the source of the information.

“Nigeria alone had 4 million more births than the entire EU last year,” he wrote on X.

Musk’s remarks highlight Nigeria’s high birth rate compared with the European Union.

Available data from Musk’s Grok showed that Nigeria recorded an estimated 7.8 million births in 2025, while the European Union had 3.5 million births.

This means Nigeria recorded approximately four million more births than the EU.

Recall that in February 2026, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said 14 million Nigerian children had their births officially registered over the previous two years, marking significant progress in legal identity coverage.

Africa’s most populous country continues to record a high birth rate, placing further strain on its already fragile economy.

World Bank data showed that Nigeria’s poverty rate stood at 63 percent in 2025 amid rising economic hardship fueled by the skyrocketing cost of living.

Meanwhile, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit that, for the first time, the country’s economy was growing faster than its population, which is estimated at 250 million.

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The Presidency has rubbished comments by Cardinal John Onaiyekan criticising the administration of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that the Catholic cleric was expressing a personal and political opinion rather than speaking on behalf of Christians in Nigeria.

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, made the remarks in a post on his X account on Saturday.

Bwala’s comments came in response to Onaiyekan’s criticism of the Tinubu administration after the recent visit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, to the President.

The cardinal had accused the government of being more focused on winning by all means than addressing the country’s challenges.

Reacting, Bwala alleged that Onaiyekan was speaking for the Catholic Church and not the entire Christian community, claiming that the institution largely supported Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during the 2023 election.

He argued that the cardinal’s comments were political rather than spiritual, adding that not all Catholics supported Obi during the election.

According to Bwala, President Tinubu was within his rights to disagree with the bishops’ assessment of Nigeria’s economy, maintaining that the administration’s position was backed by “facts, statistics and numbers.”

The presidential spokesman also contended that there is a broader Christian body comprising different denominations, including the Catholic Church and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, whose position, he said, should remain neutral rather than political.

Bwala said: “Cardinal Onaiyekan, wasn’t speaking for Christian’s, he was speaking for Catholics, the very institutions rooting for Peter Obi @PeterObi infact likely the institution where Peter Obi also said in 2022 “take back your country “.

“Therefore , Cardinal is more political than spiritual. And not all catholic members are supporting peter Obi. The president @officialABAT was well within his right to disagree with their assertion as regards Nigeria’s economy based purely on facts, stats and numbers factored into context.

“Ironically, the same priest would rebuke their members if the members said “we are suffering or we are poor” they would tell them to rather say “we are doing great and or we are rich even when they are suffering or poor”

“There is a body comprising all Christian’s including the Catholics and catholic bishops conference and that body’s position is neutral and should be so, otherwise it is political.”

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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Gianni Infantino was “the wrong man” to lead Fifa after a senior adviser to the president resigned and a third confederation opposed his plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors.

Burnham was critical of the proposal when it was first announced, and told reporters on Friday: “This was an outrageous suggestion.

“The idea that it could even be brought forward shows that, in my view, [he] is the wrong man to lead the organisation.”

Burnham was speaking hours after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it “stands in solidarity” with counterparts in Europe and North, Central America and the Caribbean.

The AFC added Infantino’s plan could not “realistically achieve the necessary broad consensus and unity required to move forward”.

“The Fifa World Cup is the pinnacle of global football and derives its strength from the participation of all Confederations and the world’s leading football nations,” it said.

“Any proposal that risks undermining the unity and universal character of the competition must be reconsidered.”

Shortly after that statement, Carlos Cordeiro – Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance – resigned, saying the proposal was “a bad deal for football” and would “mortgage football’s future”.

The AFC’s statement means Infantino’s plans are unlikely to be approved by Fifa members if put to a vote.

Infantino had indicated the proposals would need a straight majority to go through – meaning 106 of its 211 members needed to vote in favour for the proposal.

Uefa – the body that governs European football – has 55 votes. Concacaf, which oversees football in North, Central America and the Caribbean, has 35 and Asia has 46.

Should all member associations back the stance of their governing body, that would mean 136 nations are against Infantino’s plan.

•BBC Sports