BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi has amplified his demands for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign from office, claiming the administration is steering the nation off course.
Urging the President to retire gracefully, Obi maintained that President Tinubu lacks the fundamental capacity to tackle the country’s mounting challenges, steer it in the right direction and out of its current nosedive.
The former Anambra State governor, who spoke during an interview on Channel Television’s Sunday Politics, claimed the President is leading Nigeria in the wrong direction and the country now needs a leader with the required commitment to frontally address existing and emerging challenges.
According to him, the President to step aside, retire in peace and allow those with fresh energy and commitment to take the affairs of the country, adding: “The Bola Tinubu that was governor is not the one that is president today. He’s tired. He should be allowed to retire in peace, and then go home.
“As it is right now, Bola Tinubu is leading us nowhere. We will turn it so he can see it. That’s why maybe I’m calling for his retirement. The man should just step aside. Yes, he doesn’t have the capacity to do the job.”
I’ll Unite Nigeria – Obi
He said contrary to misinformation being spun by some self-serving politicians or opportunists, an Obi presidency will not only heal Nigeria, but move it forward on the path of true national unity, equity, accountable governance, greatness and shared prosperity.
The former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections said Nigerians must see beyond ethnicity or religion, stressing that divisions rooted in the Civil War have done the country no good, and his presidency would engineer robust national healing which has been long overdue.
Arguing that while Nigeria should acknowledge its history, it must not allow the past to determine its future, he said: “A Peter Obi presidency will commence the healing and the unity that is required to stabilise and build a better Nigeria”, adding, “You cannot be trapped in the process of yesterday. Those who are trapped in the process of yesterday will lose the future. We have a history, but we must not be trapped in it. It must not deprive us of tomorrow.”
The NDC presidential candidate explained that his goal is to build a country where every Nigerian can thrive regardless of ethnicity or religion, saying: “I want the child of Nigeria to be able to grow up in Nigeria, go to school, and live his life without thinking about his tribe, without thinking about yesterday, without thinking about his religion, but as a Nigerian, proud of it.”
Engaging The North
On allegations of labeling Northerners during his tenure as Anambra State governor, Obi described the claims as false, maintaining that at no point has he ever made divisive remarks about northern Nigerians.
Obi, who disclosed that his closest aides and associates over the years had included several northerners and Muslims, “That’s a lie. It never happened. My ADC was from Kano, and he’s a Muslim”, hinting also that all cooks who served him during his eight years as governor of Anambra State were from northern Nigeria, while Muslims from the state were sponsored on annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
“As governor, I was paying for Muslims living in Anambra to go to Hajj”, he said and further revealed that he currently supports Almajiri schools in Kano and Bauchi, as well as a School of Nursing in Bauchi.
Stating that he had funded boreholes in several northern communities and supported educational and health institutions, including agricultural projects at Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto, Obi said: “I’ve built boreholes in Gombe, in Kaduna, in every part of the North. When the University of Sokoto Agricultural Faculty said all they need is a borehole for their farm, I did it.”
2027 Elections Discourse
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the former governor said political debates should focus on pressing national issues and challenges facing the country rather than personal attacks, noting that: “Instead of us discussing the problems of the country, people come before you to discuss Peter Obi.”
Insisting that poverty, insecurity, education and healthcare should dominate national conversations, the NDC flag-bearer said his vision was to build an inclusive nation where every citizen feels a sense of belonging.
“I will never divide Nigeria. I will unite Nigeria. I will show love to every part of Nigeria and make sure things are done differently, because I’m going to involve everybody”, he assured.
Also commenting on recent World Bank report on poverty in Nigeria, Obi accused political actors of not focusing on critical issues affecting Nigerians, while expressing concerns over raising insecurity, hunger, poor leadership and governance delivery across the country.
Hear him: “World Bank has just said that 79 percent of Nigerians are going to face poverty. In a country of 230 million people, that’s over 180 million. That should be the issue we should be discussing”, adding, “They should be talking about the issue of out-of-school children, talking about the issue of health, and all these monies that are missing here and there that would have been invested properly. Nobody is discussing it.”
While challenging political leaders to shun frivolities and mundane attacks on personalities, he said the focus should be on issues that directly affect ordinary citizens ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said: “This election in 2027 should be about issues that affect the ordinary Nigerians… The World Food Programme has just said 35 million Nigerians are going to face hunger. Nigerians are being kidnapped. Let’s talk about Nigeria.”
