Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, highlighting the stark contrast between campaign promises and the current state of Nigeria’s electricity sector. In 2022, Tinubu pledged that if steady electricity was not delivered within his first four years, Nigerians should withhold support for his reelection. Yet, January 2026 has already seen the national grid collapse twice, and the full month is yet to end. Last year, the grid failed approximately twelve times.
Obi, now active on social media, drew attention to international comparisons, noting that Turkey
with a population of around 87 million, roughly a third of Nigeria’sgenerates and distributes over 120,000 megawatts of electricity. Nigeria, by contrast, operates at less than 5% of that capacity.
“The contrast is both striking and painful,”Obi said. He urged President Tinubu to prioritize domestic challenges over foreign trips, warning that continued neglect of critical infrastructure risks further hardship for ordinary Nigerians. “Our appeal is simple: stay at home and confront the nation’s problems,” Obi wrote on X on Wednesday.
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Obi also emphasized the broader political context, criticizing the national preoccupation with elections over governance. “We should be joining hands to demand accountability and responsible leadership, and to save Nigerians from the indignity and suffering caused by persistent bad governance,” he said, adding that a “New Nigeria is possible.”
With energy insecurity remaining a pressing issue, Obi’s comments underscore growing public frustration over the pace of infrastructural development, and the challenges facing Nigeria’s leadership as it navigates competing domestic and international priorities.