Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of focusing more on foreign travel than on dealing with Nigeria’s problems at home, saying he often comes back only to receive defectors into All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gatekeepers News reports that according to a statement on X on Sunday, Obi called January a distressing month for Nigeria, arguing that the country’s situation is worsening while the president is away.
He said insecurity has increased with many killings and hundreds of kidnappings and abductions where captors demand high ransoms, and that farmers cannot return to their farms because of violence, leading to food shortages and rising rural poverty.
Obi highlighted that millions of children are out of school because of insecurity or teachers’ strikes, and noted that even in Abuja, the nation’s capital, some schools are closed.
The politician questioned the priority of leaders who spent money on renovating venues like a conference centre and bus terminals instead of improving education. He also criticised power failures, pointing out that Nigeria experienced two national grid collapses in January.
Obi said while other world leaders focus on domestic issues at the start of the year, Tinubu has spent much of January abroad across two trips, including to Türkiye, and has been away for 23 of the month’s days. When he does come back, Obi added, it seems mainly to host politicians defecting to the APC before leaving again.
He argued that these events show a nation struggling with insecurity, economic difficulties, failing infrastructure, and deep social problems. According to him, the political class, particularly the APC, is more focused on power struggles and election planning than on solving urgent national challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians.
