Peter Obi has indicated that he would retain the floating naira exchange-rate framework introduced under the Bola Tinubu administration if elected president, while describing the fuel subsidy regime as corrupted.
The former Anambra State governor, a leading opposition voice on economic management, reportedly said his administration would not reverse the unification of the exchange rate. The naira float, which took effect alongside the removal of the petrol subsidy, remains one of the most consequential policy decisions in Nigeria's recent fiscal and monetary history.
For businesses and investors, a commitment to a market-determined exchange rate carries direct implications. A unified, floating rate removes the multiple-window structure that previously created arbitrage opportunities and distorted capital allocation. Importers, manufacturers and exporters have had to adjust to sharper currency movements, while fiscal authorities have recorded some gains from higher naira-denominated revenues linked to foreign-currency earnings.
Obi's criticism of the subsidy regime centres on corruption rather than the principle of removal. The framing matters for compliance and public finance: if subsidy spending was historically inflated by fraud and rent-seeking, then the fiscal savings from scrapping the regime depend on how transparently the proceeds are redirected. Policy credibility, in that sense, rests on audit and oversight rather than the removal decision alone.
The comments also point to continuity in the broad reform direction between the incumbent administration and a key opposition candidate. Such continuity can reduce policy uncertainty for portfolio and foreign direct investors, who typically price in the risk of abrupt reversals after a change of government. A stable exchange-rate framework and a clear stance on subsidy reform are among the signals that credit analysts and tax administrators watch when assessing Nigeria's medium-term fiscal outlook.
Even so, the floating naira has imposed adjustment costs, including higher import bills and pass-through effects on consumer prices. The fiscal and monetary authorities continue to face pressure to manage volatility while preserving the gains from exchange-rate unification.
Obi's position, as reported, suggests that the debate is shifting from whether the reforms should have happened to how they should be managed and how the resulting resources should be accounted for.
