Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has called on President Bola Tinubu to leave office in 2027, accusing his administration of worsening Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.
Obi spoke on Monday in Abuja during the inauguration of the NDC’s national campaign council, where he criticised the president’s leadership and called for a change of government.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigerians were seeking new leadership, alleging that the country was experiencing a crisis under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration.
“Tinubu has led this country into a crisis. Today, everything is collapsing. From our engagements across Nigeria, Nigerians are looking for new leadership, and we assure you that we will create that leadership,” Obi said.
He accused Tinubu’s administration of lacking the competence, capacity, compassion and commitment needed to address the country’s challenges.
Obi also questioned the president’s ability to meet the demands of the office, insisting that Nigeria needed a leader who would be available and present.
“We need him to go home. Nigeria cannot be governed with the energy he has today. Nigeria needs a president who will be available and present,” he said.
Obi criticises Tinubu over poverty, borrowing
Obi accused the Tinubu administration of worsening poverty, unemployment, corruption and insecurity, arguing that Nigeria had performed poorly across key development indicators.
He also criticised Tinubu for beginning his re-election campaign under the APC without accounting for funds borrowed by his administration or explaining its achievements under the 2023, 2024 and 2025 budgets.
“In the past three years, President Tinubu has foisted a reign of corruption on Nigeria. He has made history as the president presiding over the highest number of poor people, according to recent reports,” Obi said.
He added that the president had focused on campaigning rather than explaining how borrowed funds had been spent.
“Rather than explain what he has achieved with the 2023, 2024 and 2025 budgets, he chose to blame the opposition for creating poverty,” he said.
Obi pledged that an NDC-led government would focus on solving Nigeria’s problems rather than blaming political opponents.
“We will not lead a government of blame. The purpose of governance is to solve problems, not to blame people. I will not blame anybody. We will create that new Nigeria that is possible,” he said.
Obi promises crackdown on corruption
The NDC presidential candidate called for what he described as a revolution to transform the country, identifying corruption as a major challenge his proposed government would tackle.
“We will start by fighting the most important problem crippling Nigeria today: corruption. We will ensure that we tackle corruption head-on in a manner nobody has tackled it before,” Obi said.
He also cited Nigeria’s positions on global terrorism and hunger indices, alongside rising poverty levels, to support his criticism of the administration.
“There is no single indicator under Tinubu that has improved. When he came into office, our record on terrorism was better. Today, we are number four,” he said.
Obi further claimed that Nigeria had fallen from 109th to 117th on a hunger ranking and that its position on a poverty ranking had deteriorated from below 140th to above 140th.
He attributed the country’s difficulties to corruption, but did not provide further details of the rankings during his remarks.
The inauguration was attended by Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the NDC vice-presidential candidate; Seriake Dickson, the party’s national leader; members of the national working committee; and other party leaders.
