Foreign investment: N266bn outflow vote of no confidence in Tinubu –Atiku

• Says foreign investors heading for exit

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has described the reported N266.07 billion net outflow of foreign investment from the Nigerian equities market in the first seven months of 2026 as a vote of no confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s management of the economy.

Atiku said the development, alongside rising government borrowing and difficulties confronting businesses and households, showed that investors were increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of the economy.

In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president said latest Nigerian Exchange data indicated that foreign investors brought ₦513.36 billion into the equities market between January and July but withdrew ₦779.43 billion, resulting in a net outflow of ₦266.07 billion.

He said foreign outflows exceeded inflows every month during the period, adding that the net outflow was about 11.7 times the ₦22.68 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.

“This is not merely an investment statistic. It is a confidence verdict on the Tinubu economy,” Atiku said.

“Imagine a market where the shop owners are broke, customers have no money, the landlord keeps borrowing from everybody, and the few outsiders who brought capital are quietly carrying their money away. Only a foolish landlord would stand at the gate and call that prosperity. That is Tinubu’s economy.”

Atiku also linked the foreign investment figures to the Federal Government’s domestic borrowing, saying Nigerians had recently learnt that government borrowing increased by 90.5 per cent to ₦24.7 trillion in eight months while credit to government grew more than four times faster than credit to the private sector.

According to him, the combination was squeezing businesses at home while discouraging foreign investors.

“So the picture is now painfully clear: Tinubu’s government is crowding Nigerian businesses out of the domestic credit market while foreign investors are taking their money and heading for the exit. “Local businesses are suffocating. Foreign capital is fleeing. Government borrowing is exploding. Food prices have skyrocketed. Transportation costs are crushing families. Yet the same administration continues to congratulate itself on economic reforms,” he said.

The ADC candidate argued that an economy could not be described as recovering when businesses struggled to obtain affordable credit, manufacturers faced high operating costs, households were under pressure and investors were reluctant to retain their capital in the country.

He accused the administration of celebrating headline economic indicators while ignoring what he described as weaknesses in the fundamentals.

“The Tinubu administration may continue to manufacture impressive speeches and celebrate headline numbers, but investors are looking at the fundamentals — policy consistency, inflation, purchasing power, predictable regulation and the ability to earn sustainable real returns.

“And their verdict is increasingly unmistakable: take the money and run,” Atiku said.

He argued that Nigeria needed an economic policy capable of restoring investor confidence, reducing the cost of doing business, making energy and transportation more affordable and stimulating domestic production.

Atiku said the private sector, rather than expanding government borrowing, should be the principal driver of economic growth.

“Nigeria requires an economic policy that restores confidence, lowers the cost of doing business, makes energy and transportation affordable, encourages production and allows the private sector — rather than government borrowing — to drive growth,” he said.

He contrasted the Tinubu administration’s economic policies with those he proposed to pursue if elected president in 2027, describing the choice as one between “government consumption” and private-sector-led production.

“You cannot borrow the private sector dry, impoverish consumers and then advertise yourself to the world as an investment destination. The investors are already answering the propaganda. They are leaving,” Atiku said.