The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to either resign from office or abandon any ambition of seeking a second term, citing what he described as the administration’s failure to address the country’s worsening insecurity and its handling of the prolonged abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State.
Obi made the demand in a statement released on Monday, accusing the President of demonstrating a lack of compassion and capacity in responding to the nation’s security challenges.
According to the former Anambra State governor, the Federal Government’s response to the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State has left residents feeling abandoned, with no meaningful progress recorded more than 50 days after the incident.
“The ultimate cost of uncompassionate leadership, as evident in the country today, is turning citizens’ frustration into deep, volatile resentment. It is even more traumatising when the leader presiding over that collapse demonstrates clear incapacity and a lack of compassion,” Obi said.
He lamented that despite the passage of several weeks since the abduction, the victims were yet to regain their freedom.
“The government and people of Oyo State, more than 50 days after the abduction of the schoolchildren without any tangible effort toward their rescue, should rightly feel bitter and abandoned,” he stated.
Obi disclosed that he had previously spoken publicly about the incident on two occasions, including making a direct appeal to the kidnappers to release the abducted children.
He also revealed that he personally contacted Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde twice to express solidarity over the incident before travelling to Ibadan on July 3 alongside political economist, Professor Pat Utomi, to meet with the governor.
According to Obi, the meeting, which lasted about two hours, centred on the worsening security situation in the country and provided an opportunity to share his experiences in tackling insecurity during his tenure as governor of Anambra State.
He said he was shocked to discover during the meeting that President Tinubu had not personally contacted Governor Makinde over the kidnapping.
“But, to my utmost shock, I discovered that, contrary to my assumption that they had been in regular communication over the matter, Governor Seyi Makinde had not received a single call from President Bola Tinubu,” Obi said.
Drawing comparisons with the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, Obi recalled that although former President Goodluck Jonathan was criticised for delaying contact with the Borno State governor, security agencies at the time regularly briefed Nigerians on rescue efforts.
He further alleged that Tinubu was among those who strongly criticised Jonathan’s response and demanded his resignation.
“I vividly recall that the current President, Bola Tinubu, led a team of vocal critics who called for President Jonathan’s immediate resignation over the incident, citing his delay in calling the state governor. That call for immediate resignation should actually be the case in this matter,” he stated.
Obi also claimed that more than 13 incidents involving the abduction of schoolchildren had occurred since Tinubu assumed office, alleging that the President had failed to personally engage the affected state governors.
“I cannot imagine any issue more important than the lives of our kidnapped children, their teachers, and the many other Nigerians being held captive across the country. It is now an indisputable fact that governance has completely collapsed under this administration,” he said.
Describing the situation as evidence of “a total lack of capacity and compassion, compounded by glaring insensitivity,” Obi maintained that the President should either resign or reconsider contesting the 2027 presidential election.
“Amid such an apparent display of incompetence, the President should either resign or, at the very least, abstain from seeking re-election for the sake of our dear country,” he said.
The former governor stressed that his remarks were motivated by national interest rather than politics, insisting that his intervention was a patriotic call aimed at drawing attention to the urgent need for decisive leadership in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.