The Peter Obi Media Office has denied claims that the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate advised Nigerians not to render financial assistance to their relatives in Nigeria.
NEWSNGR reports that Peter Obi, during a town hall meeting with his supporters in the United Kingdom, had urged Nigerians in diaspora to advise those back home demanding for financial assistance to vote for good governance.
Obi stated, “You have people at home in Nigeria today who are begging you for money. Tell them no! Let’s put somebody who has proven to be productive.”
Speaking via a statement on Monday night and signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the office said the controversy arose from what it described as a distorted presentation of Obi’s remarks during an engagement with Nigerians in Europe.
He alleged that portions of the video had been edited and stripped of the context needed to understand his message.
Zekeri said Obi neither intended to discourage support for family members nor questioned the sacrifices Nigerians in the diaspora make for their loved ones.
“Peter Obi’s remarks were never intended to encourage Nigerians abroad to abandon their parents, siblings, or other loved ones in Nigeria. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the statement said.
The office acknowledged that many Nigerians abroad shoulder significant financial responsibilities at home, including paying school fees, covering medical bills, providing food and helping relatives cope with difficult economic circumstances.
It, however, argued that the need for such support on a sustained basis underscored the urgency of addressing the conditions that leave families struggling to meet their most basic needs.
According to the office, Obi’s position is that Nigerians should be able to earn decent incomes, access affordable healthcare and secure quality education for their children without depending on financial transfers from family members living outside the country.
“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,” it said.
The statement maintained that the issue was not whether Nigerians abroad should continue to support their families, but whether Nigeria with its resources should leave many households relying on people abroad.
It described Obi’s message as a call to confront the roots of poverty rather than merely manage its consequences.
“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,” the statement said.
