By Our Reporter
The Peter Obi Media Office has dismissed claims that the Labour Party’s former presidential candidate and African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Peter Obi, urged Nigerians living abroad to abandon their families in Nigeria.
The office described the interpretation of Obi’s recent remarks to Nigerians in Europe as misleading, alleging that portions of his speech had been removed from context and edited to promote a particular agenda.
In a statement issued on Monday, October 19, 2026, the spokesperson of the Peter Obi Media Office, Idris Zekeri Jnr, said Obi never intended to discourage Nigerians in the diaspora from supporting their parents, siblings or other relatives at home.
According to the statement, Obi recognises the sacrifices Nigerians abroad make to support their families, including paying school fees, covering medical bills, providing food and assisting relatives experiencing financial difficulties.
The media office explained that the central message of Obi’s remarks was the need to rebuild Nigeria into a country capable of providing basic necessities and economic opportunities for its citizens.
It argued that a nation blessed with abundant human and natural resources should not leave millions of its citizens dependent on relatives abroad to meet their essential needs.
The statement said Nigerians should have access to decent employment, affordable healthcare, quality education for their children and a dignified standard of living without constantly relying on financial assistance from family members overseas.
“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,” the statement said.
The office stressed that Obi was not asking Nigerians abroad to withdraw financial support from their families but advocating a system in which their loved ones would no longer have to depend on such assistance to survive.
It maintained that the distinction lay between addressing the immediate effects of poverty and tackling the underlying causes that make families reliant on remittances.
The statement added that Obi’s position was aimed at creating an economy that would provide opportunities for Nigerians at home, reduce financial hardship and enable citizens to live with dignity.