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| Peter Obi |
The Peter Obi Media Office has dismissed claims that the former Labour Party presidential candidate urged Nigerians living abroad to cut off financial support for their families in Nigeria, describing the interpretation as misleading and taken out of context.
According to a statement by the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, a circulating video of Obi’s remarks during an engagement with Nigerians in Europe was edited and stripped of the wider context needed to understand his message.
The media office stressed that Obi’s comments were never intended to encourage Nigerians in the diaspora to abandon their parents, siblings, or other loved ones at home. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” the statement said.
Zekeri explained that Obi recognises and deeply respects the sacrifices made by Nigerians abroad, many of whom work hard to pay school fees, settle medical bills, provide food, cover rent, and support relatives facing hardship in Nigeria.
The central message, according to POMR, is not that diaspora Nigerians should stop helping their families, but that Nigeria must begin to work effectively for its citizens. The office argued that a country blessed with abundant human and natural resources should not leave millions of households dependent on remittances from relatives overseas for basic survival.
It added that Obi’s vision is for a Nigeria where citizens can earn decent incomes, access affordable healthcare, and educate their children without relying on financial transfers from family members abroad. In such a country, diaspora remittances could support national development rather than serve as a lifeline for everyday survival.
The media office maintained that Obi is advocating for a nation that no longer abandons its people, not asking Nigerians abroad to abandon theirs.
Part of the statement reads:
“Nigerians should have access to decent employment, affordable healthcare, quality education for their children, and a dignified standard of living without having to make constant appeals to family members abroad.
“Peter Obi’s vision is to create a Nigeria that works for all - a country in which remittances from the diaspora support national development instead of being essential to families’ survival.
“He is not asking Nigerians abroad to stop supporting their families. Rather, he is advocating for a Nigeria in which their families will no longer need to depend on them in order to survive.
“This is the distinction between alleviating poverty’s symptoms and confronting its underlying causes. A New Nigeria is Possible and will be OK.”
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