Obi will reduce dollar rate to N500 if elected president, says Utomi
Political economist and chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Pat Utomi, has said the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will strengthen the naira to N500 per dollar if elected president in the 2027 general elections.
Utomi said the proposed exchange rate target formed part of Obi’s economic agenda, which he said was designed to reduce inflation, tackle poverty and improve Nigerians’ purchasing power.
In a post on X, he said the plan would involve strengthening the naira from about N1,350 to N500 per dollar, alongside investments in security, electricity and road infrastructure, as well as structural reforms to improve market competitiveness.
He projected that the proposed measures would significantly reduce the prices of essential commodities. According to him, a loaf of sliced bread could fall from N1,750 to N800, while a 50kg bag of imported rice could drop from N55,000 to N27,500.
He also projected that a medium-sized tuber of yam would decline from N2,400 to N1,200, a 50kg bag of maize from N75,000 to N37,500, and a bunch of plantain from N2,500 to N1,250. Whole chicken, he added, could drop from N7,000 to N3,500.
Utomi further said a dozen eggs could fall from N2,300 to N1,150, while a painter of garri could decline from N1,300 to N650. He also listed petrol and cement among the commodities expected to become cheaper under the proposed programme.
“We are convinced that targeting a strategic appreciation of the exchange rate by reasonably strengthening it from ₦1,350/$ to ₦500/$ as part of our manifesto is a winning strategy. It offers a direct, multi-faceted approach to curbing inflation, reducing poverty, and lowering the cost of living,” Utomi said.
Utomi, however, did not provide a timeline for achieving the exchange rate target or explain the monetary and fiscal measures required to sustain it. As of Friday, the naira traded at N1,346.86 per dollar at the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, while the dollar sold for about N1,385 on the parallel market.
