Economy

Tinubu’s Economic Reforms Driving Investors Away – Peter Obi

ByTitilope Adako

PublishedAugust 15, 2025

Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the economy, saying poor leadership and weak governance are driving away sustainable foreign investment.

His comments came in response to World Trade Organisation Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who on Thursday claimed Nigeria’s economy had stabilised under Tinubu and that his reforms were moving in the right direction.

Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke to State House correspondents after a courtesy visit to the President, said the reforms under Tinubu’s administration were “moving in the right direction.”

However, in a post on X on Friday, Obi wrote, “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.”

Citing a National Bureau of Statistics report, Obi noted, “Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Nigeria fell by about 70% in the first quarter of 2025, dropping to $126.29 million from $421.8 million in the last quarter of 2024. Of the $5.64 billion total capital importation in Q1 2025, FDI accounted for only 2.24%, compared to 8.2% in Q4 2024. Disturbingly, about 90% of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments.

“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.

“Capital flows to the manufacturing sector declined by 32.1%, falling to $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same quarter of 2023. In 2024, while global FDI flows declined, FDI to Africa significantly increased to $97 billion—a rise of about 75% compared to 2023. 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).

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

Titilope Adako

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.