Peter Obi, the National Democratic Congress presidential candidate for the 2027 election, has said he would retain President Bola Tinubu’s naira float policy if elected into office.
The former Anambra State governor made the commitment during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday. Asked to name one Tinubu administration policy he would keep, Obi replied: “There’s one the floating of the Naira. I’m not going to defend it. But I’m going to put productivity to make it more valuable to the people.”
He stressed that his focus would be on boosting productivity to strengthen the currency rather than reversing the float.Obi also cautioned against ethnic considerations influencing the 2027 polls, stating: “Our election should not be driven by tribalism.”
The Tinubu government introduced the naira float in June 2023 as part of wider economic reforms. The policy unified the foreign exchange market by allowing market forces to determine the naira’s value after the Central Bank of Nigeria removed restrictions at the Investors and Exporters window. This ended the previous multiple exchange-rate system.
The reform, announced shortly after Tinubu’s inauguration and the suspension of then-CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, led to a sharp depreciation of the naira from below N500 per dollar to levels above N1,000 and later beyond N1,500 at various points.
Supporters of the policy argue it removed distortions, improved transparency, and helped attract investment. Obi’s stance distinguishes between keeping the floating exchange-rate framework and improving the underlying economic conditions through higher domestic production, exports, and investment—an approach he has long advocated as a shift from a consumption-driven economy.
Obi, who ran in the 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party, is now contesting on the NDC platform. Economic management, inflation, exchange-rate stability, unemployment, and the cost of living are expected to feature prominently in the 2027 campaigns.
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