Abuja · Friday 11 September 2026
Peter Obi has said he would retain President Tinubu's floating naira policy if elected in 2027, while describing the previous fuel subsidy regime as corrupted. He was speaking to Arise TV.
Thirteen outlets carried it. Almost all of them framed it as a concession, and they are right to.
What the float actually did
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| An official rate set administratively | A market-determined rate |
| Access rationed by allocation | Access by price |
| A large parallel-market gap | A much smaller gap |
The gap between the two rates was where the rent lived.
The multiple-rate system created a guaranteed profit for anyone able to buy at the official rate and sell at the parallel one. That was not a side effect. It was the predictable consequence of running two prices for the same dollar, and it is why the float has defenders who are otherwise fierce critics of this government.
Why the concession is worth something
Nigerian campaigns usually run on total reversal: everything the incumbent did was wrong, and all of it will be undone. That produces manifestos nobody can cost and transitions that waste a year unpicking things.
A candidate who names one policy he would keep is telling you he has read the file. It is a low bar and it is not often cleared.
The part he has not answered
The float lowered the rent and raised the cost of living. Import-dependent prices moved with the currency, and most Nigerian household staples have an import component somewhere in the chain. Retaining the policy means retaining that consequence.
Reading it against the rest of the field
Adewole Adebayo has promised petrol at 200 naira a litre within twelve months, against a current Abuja pump price above 1,299. Obi has gone the other way and defended a policy the government he wants to replace introduced. Those are two genuinely different theories of what a campaign is for.
Reporting: Arise News, Business News Nigeria, Arbiterz and Blueprint Newspapers.
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Whatever the news does this week, somebody at home still has to eat. The Send Home boxes land as a food shop, a care package or a learning kit. Naira pricing here.
