- The 2027 NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cited the 2026 US Investment Climate Statement to attack the APC-led government over Nigeria's economic management
- The US Department of State flagged corruption, insecurity, arbitrary detention and port delays as key risks for investors in Nigeria
- Obi pointed to Nigeria's low FDI figures for Q1 2026 to back his claim that the government is failing to attract meaningful foreign investment
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has attacked the Tinubu administration following a United States government report that warned prospective investors about doing business in Nigeria.
Obi, writing via his X account, said the 2026 Nigeria Investment Climate Statement released by the US Department of State confirmed what he described as the "incompetence, ineffectiveness and corruption" of the APC-led federal government.
Source: Twitter
The US report flagged several concerns, including corruption, insecurity, inconsistent regulatory enforcement, weaknesses in the judiciary, cargo delays at ports, and problems in the power sector. It also warned that American businesses could face arbitrary detention, travel restrictions, and immigration enforcement as leverage in commercial or regulatory disputes with Nigerian authorities.
What the US Report Said About Nigeria
The report cautioned that "standard business trips can escalate into detention if the firm is under regulatory suspicion or faces charges by Nigerian authorities."
It also described port inefficiency as a significant "hidden tax" on investment, noting that cargo dwell times at the Apapa and Tin Can ports still exceed 20 days due to manual examination processes.
The report acknowledged that the Lekki Deep Seaport, which opened in 2023, handled $9.6 billion in trade in 2025 and was operating at 50 per cent capacity, bringing some relief to the sector.
Obi on Nigeria's Low FDI Numbers
Beyond the US report, Obi used Nigeria's own capital importation data to press his case.
He said that of the $10.37 billion in total capital that entered Nigeria in the first quarter of 2026, only $135.08 million — about 1.3 per cent — was Foreign Direct Investment. By contrast, Foreign Portfolio Investment accounted for roughly $9.86 billion, or about 95.1 per cent of total inflows, with loans and other capital making up the rest.
Obi argued that this breakdown shows that Nigeria is not attracting the kind of long-term productive investment its market size warrants, and blamed the shortfall directly on the federal government.
He said a competent administration would have treated the US advisory as a prompt for urgent action, particularly given Nigeria's need for foreign direct investment. Instead, he accused the government of celebrating macroeconomic indicators while the underlying conditions described in the US report persist.
The federal government had not publicly responded to Obi's remarks at the time of this report.
Obi, who left the African Democratic Congress on May 2, 2026, was ratified as the NDC's presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections on May 29, 2026.
Source: Legit.ng