By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Peter Obi Media Office (POMR) has rejected claims that the 2027 Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, urged Nigerians living abroad to abandon their families in Nigeria, describing the interpretation of his remarks to Nigerians in Europe as misleading.

In a statement dated October 19, 2026, and signed electronically by Idris Zekeri Jnr., POMR Spokesman, the media office accused those circulating the video of removing the broader context of Obi’s remarks and editing the footage to advance their agenda.

The office insisted that Obi’s comments were not intended to discourage Nigerians in the diaspora from supporting their parents, siblings and other loved ones at home.

“Peter Obi’s remarks were never intended to encourage Nigerians abroad to abandon their parents, siblings, or other loved ones in Nigeria. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the statement said.

POMR acknowledged the financial sacrifices made by Nigerians abroad to support their families, including paying school fees, covering medical expenses, providing food and assisting relatives facing difficult circumstances.

According to the office, the central message of Obi’s remarks was the need to build a country where citizens could meet their basic needs without depending heavily on financial assistance from relatives overseas.

“A nation with such abundant human and natural resources should not force millions of its citizens to rely on relatives overseas for necessities,” the statement said.

It argued that Nigerians should have access to decent jobs, affordable healthcare, quality education for their children and a dignified standard of living without constantly appealing to family members abroad for help.

POMR said Obi’s vision was to build a country where remittances from Nigerians in the diaspora would contribute to national development rather than remain essential to the survival of many households.

“Peter Obi’s vision is to create a Nigeria that works for all—a country in which remittances from the diaspora support national development instead of being essential to families’ survival,” the statement added.

The media office stressed that Obi was not asking Nigerians abroad to stop supporting their families but advocating a system in which people at home would no longer have to depend on relatives overseas to survive.

“He is not asking Nigerians abroad to stop supporting their families. Rather, he is advocating for a Nigeria in which their families will no longer need to depend on them in order to survive,” POMR stated.

The office described the distinction as one between addressing the symptoms of poverty and tackling its underlying causes, reaffirming its message that “A New Nigeria is Possible and will be OK.”