POLITICS
Resign Now, Nigeria Needs Fresh Leadership, Peter Obi Tells Tinubu
By Tambaya Julius, Abuja
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step aside ahead of the 2027 general election, describing the President as “tired” and lacking the capacity to address Nigeria’s worsening economic and security challenges.
Obi made the call during an exclusive interview on Sunday Politics with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television, where he assessed the state of the nation and criticised the Federal Government’s handling of key issues affecting Nigerians.
The former Anambra State governor acknowledged President Tinubu’s achievements during his tenure as Lagos State governor but argued that his current performance as President had failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians.
“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,” Obi said.
According to Obi, Nigeria is heading in the wrong direction and requires a leader with renewed energy, commitment and the capacity to tackle the country’s growing challenges.
“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,” he added.
He painted a difficult picture of Nigeria’s economic and social situation, highlighting rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and poor governance as major challenges requiring urgent attention.
He said reports from international organisations had shown the severity of Nigeria’s problems but accused political leaders of focusing more on personalities than on issues affecting ordinary citizens.
“World Bank has just said that 79 per cent 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,” he said.
The former presidential candidate also raised concerns over the growing number of out-of-school children, healthcare challenges and alleged mismanagement of public resources, saying such issues should dominate national discussions.
“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,” Obi stated.
On food insecurity, Obi said millions of Nigerians were at risk of hunger and urged political leaders to focus on issues that directly affect citizens ahead of the 2027 election.
“This election in 2027 should be about issues that affect 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,” he said.
‘Tinubu’s Best Is Not Enough’
Reacting to comments by former United States President Donald Trump commending Tinubu’s efforts in tackling insecurity, Obi acknowledged the recognition but insisted that more decisive action was required.
“Thank you to Donald Trump. Thank you to President Trump. But we need to do more, far more than what we are doing,” he said.
Obi argued that despite claims that the Tinubu administration had done its best, the scale of Nigeria’s security challenges required a stronger response.
“I’ve heard people, and Donald Trump is now confirming it, say he has done his best. But with the crisis we are facing, his best is not enough. We need to do more,” he added.
He cited recent abductions in Zamfara State as evidence that insecurity remained a major national crisis.
“On Wednesday, 40 people were abducted in Zamfara, and the entire community, everybody is packing to run away. On Thursday, 50 were abducted. So we’re in a crisis situation that requires another capacity,” Obi said.
Poverty Fuels Insecurity, Says Obi
The former governor argued that insecurity could not be effectively addressed without tackling poverty, unemployment and inadequate access to education.
“You can’t create mass poverty and think you can deal with insecurity. The more you put people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality. You need to invest in education, massive,” he said.
Obi said that if elected president, he would adopt a more approach to security and personally take responsibility for protecting Nigerians.
“Whatever it takes to secure any Nigerian, I will do that,” he said.
“If your people are dying, you should be ready to die. You’re the president. You’re the number one person.”
‘I’m Desperate to See Nigeria Work’
Speaking on his presidential ambition, Obi said his interest in contesting the 2027 election was driven by his desire to see Nigeria succeed rather than personal ambition.
“I’m not desperate to be Nigerian president. I’m desperate to see Nigeria work,” he said.
He added that he would support any leader capable of delivering good governance and improving the lives of Nigerians.
“If it’s working, I’ll support whatever makes it work.”
Obi expressed sadness over what he described as Nigeria’s continued decline, citing increasing poverty, insecurity and the growing number of children out of school.
“Every year we’re headed south, where more and more people have been impoverished, more and more children are out of school. Things are going in the wrong direction,” he said.
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has said he didn’t bargain for the “deluge” of good will messages, which came his way on his 70th birthday, on August 8.
In a statement at the weekend, the former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) said while it was “no doubt a privilege worthy of appreciation to attain the age of three scores and ten on August 8, 2026” he was overwhelmed by the show of love from different parts of the country and beyond.
“My attempts to write individualized responses to the thousands of messages have come to nought as I lose count of who and what messages to respond to.
“I take this opportunity therefore, to convey my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the multitude of well wishers across all divides who have, in their various ways shared the momentous day with me.
I, however, want to thank notably, Allah (SWT) for enabling the attainment as well as so many other favours that only He is capable of” he said in the statement to the media.
He appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Dr Tajuddeen Abbas, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, members of the National Assembly, the set of 1999 governors and other former governors, His Highness Ambassador Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli, CFR, Emir of Zazzau and several other Emirs and Chiefs from both within and outside Kaduna State, leaders of various political parties, other political leaders as well as candidates to various offices across partisan divides, religious leaders, and friends and well-wishers, as stated who he said either called or wrote goodwill messages to him.
“I equally appreciate the numerous youths and youth groups that took to the social media to felicitate with me.
I want to say that the various messages, many of which described me in superlatives that made me wonder as to who the references are, have humbled me but at the same time will serve as a tonic that gingers me to continue to give my best to support the unity, peace and progress of our country and its people” he stated.
He urged his friends, political associates and supporters to close ranks and confront the myriad of problems bedeviling the nation saying the challenges were surmountable with a strong will and spirit.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the submission of the list of candidates for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections for the 2027 general elections to Aug. 11.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the extension in a statement in Abuja.
Haruna noted that the extension of the deadline for the upload of nominations onto the commission’s dedicated portal followed appeals by political parties.
“The submission window which, according to the revised time table and schedule of activities for the general elections, originally scheduled to close on Saturday, Aug.
8, has been extended to Tuesday, Aug. 11.“The extension follows growing appeals by political parties for additional time to complete the process,” he said.
Haruna also notified voters who applied for replacement of lost, damaged or defaced permanent voter cards (PVCs) that the window to print downloadable copies of their cards would expire by midnight of Aug. 9.
This, according to him, is to allow the commission to compile the data of downloaded PVCs for final statistics of the total PVCs collected ahead of the Aug. 15 Osun governorship election.
He recalled that collection of PVCs in Osun was held at the registration area (RA) level from July 22 to July 28.
“Owing to complaints of large crowds and difficulties encountered by voters at collection centres, the commission approved an extension of RA-level collection to July 31, before collection moved to LGA level, running from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7.
“The commission also wishes to state that replacement of downloadable PVCs has been made available to voters in Odo-Otin and Ife Central local government areas whose cards were carted away by hoodlums who invaded the two centres.
“The commission reiterates that the stolen cards cannot be used to vote,” he said.
Haruna reassured the people of Osun of INEC’s readiness to conduct a free, fair, credible and inclusive governorship election on Aug. 15.
By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria spent a whopping N1.16trillion on fuel subsidy, losing N16.20billion to crude and product issues while deducting a total of N1.20trillion from the federation account as sales and proceeds in 2021.
Disclosing this in Abuja yesterday during his presentation to the Senate Public Account Committee (SPAC) probing the 2021- 2023 Audit Report on the Oil and Gas Industry conducted by Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Chairman of Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu added that pipeline repairs gulped N22.
05billion and strategic stock holding N6.75billion in that fiscal year.Speaking further, the RMFAC boss revealed to the Committee that during the period, the intention of the derivation objective was undermined by the way it was computed.
“The practice of computing 13% derivation on the balance of revenue after deductions from the total collections is contrary to the intention of the derivation objective “, he said.
However the Senate Committee Chairman on Public Account who was a former Accountant General of the Federation, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo stood down the reports of the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) ‘s submission saying the measure was to offer members enough time to study the report while ordering the Agency to reappear midweek.
Senator Dankwambo who was visibly upset following the non – appearance of the Auditor – General of the Federation for the investigative session without any valid or representative however threatened that the Auditor General must unfailingly appear before the Committee on Tuesday next week or risk a forced appearance through the invocation of the powers of the National Assembly.
” The Auditor – General must unfailingly appear before this committee on Tuesday next week or risk invocation of powers of the National Assembly against him , which will lead to forced appearance”, he said.
Makarfi Marks 70th Birthday Anniversary, Appreciates Massive Solidarity
ShareFormer Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, has said he didn’t bargain for the “deluge” of good will...
NYSC Swears in 1,760 Corps Members in Bayelsa
ShareFrom Mike Tayese, Yenagoa The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has sworn in a total of 1,760 Corps members for...
Tears Flow as Benue Buries 16 Victims Killed by Suspected Herdsmen
ShareFrom Attah Ede, Makurdi Members of Efeyi community in Ugboju district in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, on...
FG Donates 100 Vials of Anti-snake Venom Benue
ShareFrom Attah Ede, Makurdi The Federal Government through Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, has donated 100 vials of...
Presidential Media Team’s Road Journey and Reality of Benue’s Security Narrative
ShareBy Rotimi Ijikanmi For four days, the road into Benue became a moving test of perception, with a presidential media...
INEC Extends Deadline for Submission of Nominations for State Elections Aug 11
ShareIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the submission of the list of candidates for the governorship...
NGO Set to Empower Residents of Kabusa District
ShareBy Raphael Atuu, Abuja A non-governmental organisation, Regy and Henry Amazing Grace Foundation, in conjunction with the National Commission for...
NDCCITMA Accuses Ken-Eva CEO of Plot to Scuttle 2026 Niger Delta Investment Summit
ShareFrom Mike Tayese, Yenagoa The Niger Delta Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) has accused Kenule Nwiya,...
How FCT Can Finance Abuja Infrastructure through Capital Market – SEC
ShareBy Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, has outlined how the...
Lionel Messi Bids Farewell to Father who Guided His Career
ShareArgentina football icon Lionel Messi bid farewell Sunday to his father, the global star’s emotional anchor and agent since childhood...