The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has taken an indirect swipe at President Bola Tinubu’s frequent travels in search of investors, saying “Nobody goes around searching for foreign investors.”
Obi said this while speaking during an X-space live chat, tagged ‘ParrellelFact’ on Sunday, stressing that “foreign investors are like bees; when you keep the honey, they will boom towards there.”
He added that “We need to attract foreign investors and not chase after them.”
Obi noted that Nigeria should attract foreign investors and not chase after them.
His critique comes on the heels of President Tinubu’s foreign trips, claiming that it was to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country in recent times.
Recall that Mr. Tinubu had in September attended the G20 Summit in India, the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States of America and the G20 compact with Africa Conference in Berlin, Germany, and others to “sustain his momentum in advancing the cause of FDI in Nigeria”.
However, Tinubu in an interview with The Nation on Sunday claimed that the country’s efforts to woo foreign direct investors are yielding fruit.
“We’ve secured a $500 million deal with Germany to fund renewable energy projects, particularly in rural Nigeria.
“Our focused efforts to attract European FDI are yielding fruit, notably with the $116 million French investment in the I-DICE program, aimed at creating 65,000 start-ups and 150,000 jobs, particularly empowering women,” he said.
According to him, Foreign Direct Investment is not ‘Chicken Change’ but a long-term financial commitment from serious enterprises and investors.
He added, “FDI is not ‘chicken change’. FDI is substantial, long-term financial commitments made by serious enterprises and investors. Right now, Nigeria is re-engaging with the global market – both foreign and domestic investors.
“We are telling the story of our significant and far-reaching reforms and rebuilding confidence in Nigeria as an accessible and safe investment.
“We are clearly communicating that ‘Nigeria is open for business’ and that the direction of travel is clear and fully committed.”
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