Peter Obi has called on President Bola Tinubu to suspend his “ongoing retreat” in France and urgently return to Nigeria to address what he described as a worsening state of insecurity across the country.
In a strongly worded post on his official X handle on Wednesday, April 16, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election said the situation at home no longer allows for presidential absenteeism.
“I am compelled at this time in our lives as a nation to call on our retreating President’s attention to the security challenges at home, which entails that he immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in a foreign land and come home to address the overwhelming security situation across the country,” Obi stated.
He said at least 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to violent attacks in the past two weeks, with Plateau and Zamfara States being the hardest hit.
Obi also made reference to the return of insurgency in Borno, repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta, and rising cases of killings and abductions in the South-East.
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“The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta further reflect a nation in distress,” he said. “In the North East, Borno state leaders are bemoaning the return of insurgency with troops and civilians being killed randomly. In the South East, the story is the same: killings and abduction.”
Lamenting what he described as a leadership vacuum, Obi said, “Amid all these, the CEO of the troubling company called Nigeria is retreating [in a] far away land in France from the Company’s headquarters.”
According to him, the primary responsibility of any leader is the protection of lives and property, adding that “one wonders the type of retreat going on in another country where peace has been secured by their leaders while blood continues to flow in our country.”
He also reiterated that the campaign for a better Nigeria was not about individuals but about building a country where every citizen benefits from policies and leadership decisions.
“I, therefore, like to urge Mr President to quickly suspend whatever he is doing in France and rush home to take responsibility by addressing these disturbing issues. That is the new Nigeria that the nation seeks. A New Nigeria is POssible,” he concluded.