Former presidential aide Reno Omokri has described Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as the “biggest threat” to the growth of the Naira, accusing him of undermining local production through large-scale importation.
Omokri made the claim in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday, alleging that Obi’s business activities contradict Nigeria’s economic agenda of promoting local manufacturing.
“As the single biggest individual importer, Peter Obi is the biggest threat to #GrowNairaBuyNaija,” Omokri wrote. “We cannot move from consumption to production and become a prosumer nation if people like Peter Obi, through his Next stores, do not stop their massive importation of goods that can be easily manufactured locally.”
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He further claimed that Obi’s continued importation of consumables such as tomato paste, evaporated milk, cereals, toiletries, and other household products was harmful to Nigerian industries.
“As long as people like Peter Obi keep dumping cheap imported goods on the Nigerian market, domestic manufacturers will strive and not thrive,” he added.
Omokri also suggested that such practices could undermine the 4.3% GDP growth recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, noting that excessive imports hinder the nation’s goal of self-reliance.
“Some of these guys even import toothpicks and toilet paper!” Omokri wrote. “I challenge Peter Obi to move from importing to manufacturing to show that he is fully committed to the economic growth of Nigeria.”
