Tinubu’s economic reforms, uncoordinated, reactive – Peter Obi counters Okonjo-Iweala’s claim

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Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential flag bearer in the 2023 general elections, has raised fresh concerns about the state of Nigeria’s economy under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing new economic figures.

Obi argued that the current leadership’s lack of strong governance is deterring long-term foreign investment. His criticism came shortly after the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, praised the Tinubu-led government for stabilizing the economy and implementing reforms she described as being on the right track.

Speaking to journalists at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, Okonjo-Iweala had expressed optimism about Nigeria’s economic trajectory under the current administration.

However, in a post on X on Friday, Obi said: “FDI to Nigeria Declines Amidst Unending Global Galivanting and Uncoordinated Reforms. While the President, Ministers, and other government officials continue their global galivanting in search of FDI, our poor performance in key governance indicators, such as rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability, continues to prove that you cannot attract sustainable foreign investment with poor leadership and governance.”

Referring to new data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Obi pointed out that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plunged by nearly 70% in the first quarter of 2025, falling to $126.29 million from $421.8 million in the previous quarter (Q4 2024).

He further highlighted that out of the $5.64 billion in total capital inflow recorded in Q1 2025, only 2.24% came from FDI down from 8.2% in the last quarter of 2024.

“Disturbingly, about 90% of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments,” Obi said. “With such a high proportion of capital importation flowing into speculative investments, the impact on industrial growth or job creation is highly insignificant and elusive, given the ease with which such ‘hot money’ can exit the economy.”

He also noted a sharp downturn in capital directed toward manufacturing, stating that investment in the sector dropped by 32.1%, from $191.92 million in Q1 2023 to $129.92 million in Q1 2025.

“In 2024, while global FDI flows declined, FDI to Africa significantly increased to $97 billion—a rise of about 75% compared to 2023,” Obi stated. “Egypt attracted the highest share in Africa, with $46.58 billion. Other top recipients included Ethiopia ($3.98 billion), Côte d’Ivoire ($3.80 billion), Mozambique ($3.55 billion), Uganda ($3.30 billion), Democratic Republic of Congo ($3.11 billion), South Africa ($2.47 billion), Namibia ($2.06 billion), Senegal ($2.02 billion), Guinea ($1.83 billion), and Morocco ($1.64 billion).”

He lamented that Nigeria received only $1.08 billion in 2024, about 1% of Africa’s total, representing a 42% drop from 2023. “Worse still, after this 42% drop between 2023 and 2024, FDI to Nigeria has further declined by 75% between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025,” he said.

“We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” Obi added.

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