Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government, alleging it’s more focused on politics than solving Nigerians’ problems. Obi made his remarks during a press briefing in Abuja on Nigeria’s Democracy Day (June 12) .
He began by paying tribute to MKO Abiola and other pro-democracy heroes, but warned that recent political activity seems skewed toward the upcoming election rather than governance .
Obi cited alarming socio-economic statistics: poverty has risen from 38.9% in 2023 to 54%; primary healthcare is failing, with fewer than 10% of centres fully operational; maternity wards he visited recently posed a 50/50 survival risk to mothers and newborns .
He added that food insecurity is intensifying, pushing some Nigerians into “professional begging”, and WHO reports over 20 million sufferers of mental health issues across the country .
Despite Nigeria’s soaring N188 trillion debt, Obi argues there’s no visible impact from borrowed funds—insisting corruption is rampant while parliament pads the 2025 budget .
He criticised broken campaign promises, noting many Nigerians still suffer dark nights without electricity, contrary to Tinubu’s vow to restore power within four years .
Obi urged Tinubu to uphold the rule of law, be transparent, stop “remote-control governance”, and spend more time at home—after reportedly spending about 150 days abroad in two years .
He specifically called for action on insecurity to allow farmers to resume work, and measures to lower manufacturing costs to boost local production .
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