The media office of Peter Obi has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to explain what ordinary Nigerians have gained from President Bola Tinubu’s administration since he assumed office in 2023, arguing that many citizens continue to face economic hardship.
Gatekeepers News reports that Idris Zekeri, spokesperson for the Obi Media Office, made the call in a statement on Saturday while responding to comments by Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, who criticised Obi over his claim that he won the 2023 presidential election.
Alake had described Obi’s remarks as troubling, arguing that a presidential candidate should provide evidence to substantiate claims about the election result.
However, Zekeri urged the APC to shift its attention from disputing Obi’s claim to explaining the administration’s performance, particularly in addressing the economic and security challenges confronting Nigerians.
He said citizens were more concerned about the impact of government policies on their daily lives than arguments over the outcome of the 2023 election.
“What significance does an electoral victory have if it fails to bring meaningful improvements to the lives of the people?” he asked.
Zekeri further questioned what the administration’s electoral victory had delivered to ordinary Nigerians, alleging that the country had instead experienced rising living costs, worsening poverty and intensifying insecurity.
“What has that ‘victory’ delivered to ordinary citizens apart from escalating economic hardship, higher living costs, worsening poverty, and intensifying insecurity under a government marked by grandiosity and corruption?” he asked.
The spokesperson acknowledged that the courts had affirmed the official result of the 2023 presidential election but maintained that the legal outcome should not shield the government from public scrutiny.
“We recognise that the courts affirmed the official result of the 2023 presidential election. Nevertheless, a legal victory does not amount to successful governance, nor does it place an administration beyond public examination and accountability,” he said.
He argued that electoral success should be measured by improvements in citizens’ welfare rather than political victories or court rulings.
“Leadership should be judged not by the ability to win or appropriate an election or defend its result in court but by the capacity to transform political authority into concrete outcomes,” Zekeri said.
He also challenged the APC to account for the administration’s performance on the economy, security and the cost of living, asking where the relief and prosperity promised to Nigerians had materialised.
“Where is the relief Nigerians were promised? Where is the economic prosperity? Where are the security, affordability, and renewed hope that responsible leadership should provide?” he asked.
Zekeri urged the APC-led government to focus on delivering tangible results instead of attacking opposition figures, adding that citizens expected improvements in their homes, workplaces, farms and communities.
The exchange comes as political parties and their candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with Obi, the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), emerging as one of the opposition figures challenging Tinubu’s administration.
APC and the presidency have defended the administration’s economic reforms, while opposition figures have repeatedly criticised their impact on living costs and household welfare.
