Nigerian presidential hopeful Obi promises anti-corruption drive

Oil-rich Nigeria can tackle its cost-of-living crisis in part by fighting government waste, presidential candidate Peter Obi told AFP, as politicians jostle to lead Africa's most populous country.

Obi, a former governor from southeastern Nigeria, spoke to AFP Tuesday evening in Abuja, as campaigns get under way for January elections set to be defined by the economy and security.

"We need to cut the cost of governance," Obi said. "And fight corruption."

That would also open up space -- and money -- for the government to then focus on "health, education and lifting people out of poverty," he said.

"You unite the country, secure the country, and put your resources in these critical areas. And you will see the difference."

It might be easier said than done, however, after decades of corruption have seeped through Nigeria's institutions, from the military to routine government services, researchers say.

And Obi, 65, though popular among the youth, would be coming in as an outsider -- President Bola Tinubu's All Progressive Congress controls 31 of Nigeria's 36 powerful governorships and has a far greater party infrastructure than Obi's Nigeria Democratic Congress.

Violence, poverty linked

Though the security at the hotel his team had gathered in was typical for the Nigerian capital, it offered a reminder of the country's myriad conflicts -- guards sweeping cars before clearing them for entry, courtyard walls topped with an electric fencing, metal detectors in the lobby.

Obi has focused much of his campaign on security, which he said was linked to poverty.

"The more you pull people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality," he told AFP, calling for an increase in manufacturing jobs that have typically eluded both Nigeria and other poor African countries in recent decades.

After peaking at 21 percent in 1994, manufacturing's share of Nigerian GDP fell to eight percent in 2025, according to the World Bank.

The country is facing both a long economic slide -- 63 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, according to the IMF -- and myriad security threats, from jihadists, gangs, separatists, and farmers and herders clashing over land.

Both issues pre-date Tinubu, 74, who is running for re-election, but both have gotten worse in his tenure.

Though experts have praised his economic reforms, the average Nigerian has seen a massive spike in prices since the government scrapped a costly petrol subsidy that indirectly suppressed the price of goods across the economy.

Tinubu has said the reforms averted an even greater crisis as the subsidy grew unsustainable.

Atiku Abubakar, 79, the other main opposition challenger, recently called for restoring the subsidy, though he said his policy would target domestic refineries rather than directly reducing prices at the pump.

Obi said that fighting corruption in the oil sector could reduce prices without re-implementing the subsidy.

One area where he agreed with Tinubu was in creating state police -- a sweeping, decentralising reform in a country where the federal police struggle to contain violence and other crimes.

Possible spoiler?

The 2023 election saw a crowded field, with Obi, Abubakar and ex-Kano state governor Rabiu Kwankwaso divvying up the opposition vote. Tinubu won with just 36.6 percent of the ballots.

This time, there's a chance that Obi and Abubakar will split the anti-Tinubu vote again.

Obi said the public should be allowed to "decide which of (the three of) us is best suited to serve the country".

With turnout hitting 27 percent last time around, there are tens of millions of voters to be gained, making the argument of playing spoiler irrelevant, he suggested.

But an incident that saw his convoy blocked on the road in a volatile region of Benue state, earlier in the day Tuesday, didn't bode well for "free, fair and credible" polls, he added.

Nigerian elections are often tainted with violence, and politicians recruit thugs to intimidate opponents and voters.

"People don't come out when there's rascality and bad behaviour," he said.