Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to step aside ahead of the 2027 election.
He said the president is “tired” and no longer has the capacity to tackle Nigeria’s mounting economic and security challenges.
Obi made the call during an exclusive interview on Channels Television on Sunday.
Obi argued that while Tinubu may have performed well as governor of Lagos State, his current leadership had failed to address the country’s worsening crises.
“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, a former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, said.
According to Obi, Nigeria was “headed in the wrong direction” and required a leader with the energy and commitment to reverse the country’s fortunes.
“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.”
Obi’s remarks came as he painted a grim picture of the country’s economic and social conditions, lamenting what he described as rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and poor governance.
He said successive reports from international organisations showed the scale of Nigeria’s challenges but accused political actors of focusing on personalities rather than addressing issues affecting ordinary citizens.
“World Bank has just said that 79% 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 added: “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.”
The former presidential candidate also referenced food insecurity, saying millions of Nigerians faced hunger.
“This election in 2027 should be about issues that affect the 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.”
