If elected in February, the Labour Party (LP) contender for Nigeria’s presidency, Peter Obi, would reform the country’s expensive subsidy system and unify the numerous exchange rates of the local naira currency, according to his manifesto unveiled on Sunday.
Nigeria has various exchange rates, allowing certain corporations to obtain dollars at a low cost while the rest of forex purchasers pay higher rates on the black market, while the government spends billions of dollars on gasoline subsidies each year.
Peter Obi, considered an anti-establishment candidate by the international media, stated that if elected on February 25, he will “demand the transparent liberalisation of the foreign exchange market.”
According to his manifesto, he will abolish the multiple-rate naira system that “effectively subsidises a few privileged persons, whilst depriving the government of badly needed revenues,” and rebalance “unaffordable subsidies” to benefit the less fortunate population.
While political observers do not anticipate the 61-year-old to win the election, they do believe he may be able to win over enough supporters who are fed up with both the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the mainstream ruling All Progressives Congress party (APC) to play a deciding role.
Both PDP challenger Atiku Abubakar and APC candidate Bola Tinubu are powerful political veterans in their seventies.
