‘My message twisted’ - Obi denies telling UK-based Nigerians to abandon loved ones
Obi said he appreciated Nigerians in the diaspora who made sacrifices to support their families at home, stressing that his concern was the country’s dependence on remittances to meet basic needs. The post ‘My message…
Peter Obi, who contested as the Labour Party's presidential candidate in the 2023 election and remains a vocal commentator on Nigeria's economy, has frequently highlighted the country's heavy reliance on diaspora remittances as a symptom of weak local production and poor governance. Nigerians abroad, particularly in the UK, send billions of dollars home annually to support family members, a flow often cited by economists as both a lifeline for households and a signal of the country's struggles to retain value and opportunity domestically.
The controversy stems from remarks Obi made to UK-based Nigerians that were interpreted by some as urging them to stop remitting money to relatives back home. Obi has pushed back on that interpretation, saying his comments were taken out of context and reframed by political rivals, and that his actual concern was with the state's failure to reduce citizens' dependence on remittances for basic needs rather than with diaspora support for families itself. Vanguard and Leadership both report his clarification and his accusation that opponents distorted his original message, though neither outlet details the specific wording of his initial remarks that sparked the backlash.