Peter Obi Urges Tinubu to Resign Over Oyo Kidnapping Incident

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for 2027, has once again urged President Bola Tinubu to either resign or not run for re-election. He believes the president's handling of insecurity in Nigeria has been very poor.

On Monday, Obi shared a post on his verified X account. He said that Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State informed him that Tinubu had not contacted him in over 50 days after the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo.

Obi, who was also a former governor of Anambra State, criticized Tinubu for not rescuing the abducted people and for not addressing the ongoing security issues. He described this as a display of incapacity and a lack of compassion.

"The government and people of Oyo State should feel bitter and abandoned. It has been over 50 days since the schoolchildren were taken, and there has been no real effort to rescue them," he stated.

The former governor visited Makinde with Nigerian economist Pat Utomi on Friday. During this visit, he learned that Tinubu had not reached out to the governor to express sympathy regarding the abduction.

"Given this clear sign of incompetence, the President should either step down or at least not seek re-election for the sake of Nigeria. This is a patriotic call, not a political one," he said.

Obi recalled how past Nigerian presidents, like Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, and Muhammadu Buhari, would often call several times when similar incidents happened under their watch.

"I remember when the Chibok girls were kidnapped during President Goodluck Jonathan's time. It got a lot of attention, both locally and internationally. Even though security agencies gave daily updates, people were outraged that it took Jonathan over two weeks to contact the state governor."

Obi noted that Tinubu was part of the critics who called for Jonathan to resign because of the delay in reaching out to the governor. He emphasized, "That demand for resignation should also apply to the situation with the Oyo abduction."

Obi expressed disbelief that about 13 school abductions have occurred since Tinubu took office. He pointed out that the president had not reached out to the governors of the affected states for over seven weeks.

"This is unacceptable. I fear the same might have happened in other cases of school kidnappings. I cannot think of anything more important than the lives of our kidnapped children, their teachers, and all the other Nigerians being held captive in the country," he said.

Obi added, "It is clear that governance has completely failed under this administration."

Back in June, Obi had already asked Tinubu to resign due to worsening security issues in Nigeria.

In response, Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson for the President, dismissed Obi's call as misplaced. He claimed it was based on a selective view of the situation in Nigeria since 2023.

Onanuga explained that Tinubu inherited long-standing problems but has made progress through stronger military actions and more investment in security. He said that hundreds of kidnapped victims have been rescued and over 15,000 terrorists have been neutralized through ongoing operations across the country.

"It is ridiculous for Obi, who failed to secure lives and property as governor of Anambra, to now demand President Tinubu’s resignation over security issues in other regions," he said.