Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised the Federal Government over what he described as poor leadership and weak governance, blaming them for Nigeria’s sharp decline in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

In a post on his X account on Friday, cited by PUNCH Online, Obi said the country cannot achieve sustainable economic growth and development under the current governance structure. He accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of focusing on foreign trips to court investors while failing to address fundamental governance issues.

“While the President, Ministers, and other government officials continue their global galivanting in search of FDI, our poor performance in key governance indicators such as rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability continues to prove that you cannot attract sustainable foreign investment with poor leadership and governance,” Obi stated.

Citing recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data, Obi revealed that Nigeria’s FDI fell by about 70% in the first quarter of 2025, plunging to $126.29 million from $421.8 million in Q4 2024. The NBS report showed that of the total $5.64 billion in capital imports during Q1 2025, only 2.24% came from FDI, compared to 8.2% in the previous quarter.

The former Anambra governor expressed concern that 90% of imported capital went into speculative money market instruments, which he said had little impact on industrial growth or job creation. He also noted a 32.1% drop in capital inflow to the manufacturing sector, from $191.92 million in Q1 2023 to $129.92 million in Q1 2025.

“There is no better confirmation of the lack of trust in this government, whose reforms remain uncoordinated and largely reactive,” Obi lamented.

He further highlighted that in 2024, while global FDI declined, FDI to Africa rose to $97 billion, a 75% jump from 2023. Egypt attracted the largest share at $46.58 billion, followed by Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, and Uganda. In contrast, Nigeria received just $1.08 billion, representing about 1% of Africa’s total and marking a 42% drop from 2023, followed by an additional 75% fall between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.

“We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” he warned.