Ayoola Lawal, a former Secretary of the APC Committee of Diaspora Chairmen, has filtered calls by NDC Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, urging President Bola Tinubu to resign, saying the Nigerians should allow the ballot to decide.

Lawal, a former House of Representatives candidate, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Obi, a former Anambra governor recently urged President Tinubu to step aside, arguing that the country needed a different level of leadership to confront its growing challenges.

Lawal acknowledged that Obi had raised legitimate concerns about Nigeria’s economic hardship, rising cost of living, insecurity, unemployment and declining purchasing power.

According to him, these challenges are real and continue to affect millions of Nigerians.

Lawal, however, argued that Tinubu’s administration had been working aggressively to address these inherited structural problems through a series of ambitious economic and institutional reforms.

“Anyone who has objectively followed the administration of President Bola Tinubu will acknowledge that these challenges are indeed legitimate.

“They will also recognise that the administration is working hard to confront them through far-reaching reforms aimed at stabilising the economy, strengthening institutions and laying the foundation for long-term national growth,” he said.

The APC chieftain noted that since assuming office, the Tinubu administration had implemented some of Nigeria’s most significant structural reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy.

He added that others were liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, fiscal and tax reforms, the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), ongoing power sector reforms and renewed investment in strategic road infrastructure.

Lawal said among others were initiatives to strengthen local government financial autonomy, digital economy reforms, expanded military recruitment and security operations, and policies designed to restore investor confidence.

He said there were major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, ongoing rehabilitation of key federal highways, railway development, and port modernisation.

The chieftain said these demonstrated that the administration was pursuing long-term development in spite of immediate economic difficulties facing the country.

While maintaining that the government should continue to be held accountable for the impact of its policies, Lawal said criticism must remain anchored on constitutional principles and democratic norms.

“In every constitutional democracy, disagreement with an incumbent administration is resolved through constitutional institutions and, ultimately, through the ballot box.

“Calling for the retirement of a sitting President, in the absence of constitutional grounds such as resignation, impeachment or incapacity, neither advances democracy nor strengthens public accountability,” he said.

Lawal questioned the practical implications of Obi’s position, asking what constitutional or national purpose would be served if a sitting President were to resign only months before another general election in a couple of months.

He said: “If Tinubu was to retire today, then for whom? And to what immediate national benefit? Nigeria is already approaching another electoral cycle.

“The democratic path is clear: allow the reforms to be assessed, let the opposition present a superior alternative, and allow Nigerians to make their decision at the ballot box. That is how constitutional democracies function.”

Lawal further argued that while the opposition had a constitutional responsibility to scrutinise government policies, it also had a duty to provide practical alternatives rather than focus on personalities.

He said Nigeria’s democracy was sufficiently mature to resolve political disagreements through elections, not through calls for the resignation or retirement of elected leaders outside the constitutional framework.

He maintained that President Tinubu’s administration should continue to be evaluated on measurable outcomes and that Nigerians remain the ultimate judges of whether the ongoing reforms have delivered on their promises.

He said: “The Tinubu administration must continue to account for every policy and every promise. Equally, the opposition must continue to perform its oversight role.

“However, whether the President deserves another mandate is a decision that belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people at the next general election-not to political rhetoric.”

Lawal said judging by all the administration had done so far, Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate his policies and projects.

The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) in Ondo State says the conduct of residents during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the state is satisfactory.

Mutiu Agboke, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, said this on Sunday while monitoring the end of the phase 3 extension of CVR in the state.

Agboke said the exercise had been peaceful, orderly, and recorded impressive turnout across the 18 local government areas of the state.

The REC, who attributed the turnout of eligible voters to the commission’s advocacy, campaign and voter education, said the online platform added to the smooth conduct of the exercise.

“Our monitoring today is to see the reaction of the registrants, the people and we saw that people are still forced to come out because of the closure today.

“We can’t rule out whether it is closing today or not, a lot of people are eager to be registered, that’s one thing that satisfies me.

“Moreso, our advocacy, campaign and voter education to people usually prepare them to come, and they really came out.

“At one of the centres, someone said it doesn’t matter the time the exercise ends today, he is going to register, even if he closes with them.

“So, this shows the indication of enthusiasm and readiness, and for me, the totality of the exercise is the joy and my satisfaction in Ondo State,” he said.

Agboke also reiterated the commission’s readiness to conduct free, fair and transparent elections, and said INEC would focus more on the 2027 general election activities after the Osun State governorship election.

According to him, the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in the first, second and third phase, including the extension, will be harmonised for printing.

Adegoroye Kayode, a 76-year-old Evangelist, who came for voters card transfer at Ondo West Local Government INEC centre, said the late transfer was due to his change of environment.

INEC’s CVR phase 3 extension commenced on May 11, 2026 and officially ended on July 26, 2026.

Agboke was accompanied by the commission’s administrative secretary, Tadese Adenike, and other members who visited some centres at Ondo Central and Southern Senatorial District of the state.

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.