Obi denies telling diaspora Nigerians to cut off family support
- Peter Obi says his Manchester town hall remarks were misrepresented by political opponents.
- A presidential aide insists Obi did urge Nigerians abroad to stop sending money home.
- Obi says his real point is that Nigeria should create jobs so families need not depend on remittances.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has moved to clear up what he meant when he spoke to supporters in Manchester, United Kingdom, about money Nigerians abroad send home.
In a statement he signed and posted on X on Tuesday, Obi said his words had been turned into something he did not say. He insisted he never told Nigerians in the diaspora to stop supporting their relatives.
At the town hall, according to reports of the event, Obi told those present that relatives back home who keep asking for money should be told no, and that they should instead back leaders who can make the country work. That remark was widely reported as a call for Nigerians abroad to stop sending money home.
What Obi now says
Obi said he respects the effort of Nigerians abroad, noting that their remittances cover school fees, hospital bills, rent and food for many families.
His argument, he said, is that Nigeria should not be a country where millions survive only because relatives overseas send money. He wants jobs, affordable healthcare, good schools and opportunities that let people stand on their own.
“I'm not asking Nigerians abroad to abandon their families. I'm advocating for a Nigeria that will no longer abandon its own people,” he said.
The clarification came after his media office had already issued a statement on the matter. Obi said he still felt the need to speak personally because of how his message was being presented.
The Presidency pushes back
The Presidency did not accept the explanation. Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, said in a statement on Tuesday that nobody had distorted anything.
Olusegun said what Obi said was clear and accused him of running a campaign that turns people against one another, including Nigerians abroad against those at home. He said such tactics failed in 2023 and would fail again in 2027.
The exchange shows how quickly diaspora remittances, which many Nigerian households depend on, have become a campaign issue ahead of the 2027 general elections.
What happens next: Both sides have now put their positions on record. Obi is expected to keep making his case at diaspora meetings, while the Presidency appears ready to respond each time.
