Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as “poor leadership and weak governance” that are driving away sustainable foreign investment from Nigeria.
In a statement on Friday, Obi accused government officials of prioritising foreign trips over addressing deep-rooted governance challenges that are crippling investor confidence.
“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,” Obi stated.
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Citing recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Obi highlighted that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Nigeria plummeted by about 70% in the first quarter of 2025, falling sharply to $126.29 million from $421.8 million recorded in the last quarter of 2024.
He noted that of the total $5.64 billion in capital importation during the period, FDI accounted for a meagre 2.24%, compared to 8.2% in Q4 2024.“Disturbingly, about 90% of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments,” he 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.”
The former Anambra governor stressed that the government’s uncoordinated and reactive economic reforms have eroded investor trust, pointing to a steep 32.1% decline in capital flows to the manufacturing sector, which dropped to $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same quarter of 2023.
“There is no better confirmation of the lack of trust in this government, whose reforms remain uncoordinated and largely reactive,” Obi said. “Sustainable economic growth and development cannot be achieved through poor leadership and weak governance—problems that are clearly reflected in declining FDI and our poor performance in key governance indicators.”
Obi contrasted Nigeria’s dwindling fortunes with the wider African investment landscape, noting that while global FDI fell in 2024, Africa experienced a remarkable 75% increase to $97 billion, with Egypt alone attracting $46.58 billion.
Other African nations, including Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Uganda, and South Africa, posted impressive inflows.
“Most disappointingly, our dear nation, Nigeria – the so-called ‘Giant of Africa’ – received only $1.08 billion, about 1% of Africa’s total FDI, representing a decline of about 42% from 2023,” Obi lamented. “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 warned that without strong, effective leadership and coordinated economic strategies, Nigeria will remain on the periphery of global investment flows, unable to harness its economic potential.
“We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” he concluded.
, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over what he described as “poor leadership and weak governance” that are driving away sustainable foreign investment from Nigeria.){kind=link}