The Presidency has rejected Peter Obi’s claim that political opponents distorted his comments on money sent home by Nigerians abroad, deepening a row over remittances that has dominated political exchanges this week. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said on X that Obi’s clarification only confirmed what he had said in the first place. “Mr Peter Obi, you failed to clarify your Manchester callous statement. Nobody twisted your statement. Thank you for affirming it again,” Onanuga wrote.
The dispute began on Sunday, October 18, at a town hall meeting Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), held with diaspora supporters in Manchester, United Kingdom. Speaking about relatives who ask for financial help, the former Anambra State governor told the audience: “You have people at home in Nigeria today who are begging you for money. Tell them no!” He argued that support from abroad cushions the effects of poor governance without dealing with its causes, and urged diaspora Nigerians to push their families to vote for capable leaders in 2027.
The remarks drew swift criticism. The Labour Party, the NNPP and the SDP faulted the comments, arguing that vulnerable families who rely on support from abroad would bear the cost. Onanuga, in a separate post on Tuesday, went further, saying Obi needed “not ordinary counselling” and describing what he called a pattern of gaffes and inconsistencies.
Obi responded on Tuesday in a statement titled “My Message Has Been Twisted”, which followed an earlier clarification by his media office. He said he deeply appreciated Nigerians abroad whose remittances pay for school fees, hospital bills, rent and food, and that he never asked them to abandon their loved ones. “Our goal must be to build a nation that provides jobs, affordable healthcare, quality education, and economic opportunities for its citizens,” he wrote. He said his concern was that millions of Nigerians depended on relatives overseas simply to survive.
The figures show why the subject touches a nerve. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria put diaspora remittances at $21.806 billion in 2025, almost unchanged from $21.811 billion in 2024. The apex bank’s balance of payments report showed inflows of $5.30 billion in the first quarter of 2026, down about 7 per cent from $5.72 billion in the last quarter of 2025. The World Bank estimates that Nigeria accounts for more than 35 per cent of all remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa, making it the region’s largest recipient.
Remittances also matter to the government’s own economic plans. CBN data show that formal inflows through international money transfer operators rose by 44.5 per cent in 2024 to $4.76 billion, after reforms aimed at drawing diaspora funds into official channels. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has said monthly inflows average about $600 million, with the bank targeting $1 billion a month. Sending money to the region remains costly, with the World Bank putting the average fee for transfers to Sub-Saharan Africa at 8.46 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, against a global average of 6.36 per cent.
Beyond the figures, the debate goes to the heart of the 2027 campaign. Obi frames heavy dependence on relatives abroad as evidence of failed governance, while the Presidency and other opposition parties present his Manchester remarks as a threat to household survival. Neither side has disputed the scale of the money involved.
In a separate post, Onanuga called for the death penalty for counterfeiters after the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) uncovered a suspected fake alcoholic drinks factory at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Aba, Abia State. “These counterfeiters certainly have no conscience. Until we start imposing a death penalty on them, they will never stop their nefarious activities,” he wrote. His call is a personal view, and no bill or government proposal to that effect has been made public.
NAFDAC said on Monday, October 19, that its officials found the facility operating in unhygienic conditions, and that the suspected operator fled on their arrival. According to the agency, the operator abandoned a vehicle loaded with fake packaging bearing the names of Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky, as well as a drum holding about 200 litres of liquid. Officials also recovered bottle caps, sealing machines, empty bottles and tanks of liquid mixtures, with the equipment and materials valued at more than ₦500 million.
The Aba raid is one of several in recent days. NAFDAC said it seized suspected counterfeit alcoholic drinks worth ₦2 billion at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex on October 13, and raided shops at Old Court Road Market in Aba over fake drinks and packaging. The agency put the value of counterfeit and unwholesome products seized and destroyed within one week at more than ₦5.3 billion. It has urged members of the public to report suspected illegal production through its call centre.