Obi Blasts Tinubu: You Lack Capacity, Energy — Nigerians Need President Who Will Be Available
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has declared that President Bola Tinubu lacks the energy and capacity to govern Nigeria, insisting that the country needs new leadership.
Obi also warned against electoral manipulation in 2027, declaring that his party would resist any attempt to rig the polls.
He spoke on Monday at a dinner in Abuja organised to present certificates of return to NDC’s candidates for the 2027 general elections.
“Everything is collapsing. Nigerians are looking for new leadership, and I can assure you that we will get it. Today, President Tinubu has led a government that lacks competence, capacity, compassion and commitment to deal with Nigeria’s problems. Above all, President Tinubu does not have the energy that can solve power for Nigeria today. And he must go. He needs to go home. Nigerians cannot be governed with his energy of today. The people need a President who will be available, and that will always be there,” Obi said.
Obi called for free, fair and credible election, warning those who might contemplate manipulating results.
“Let it be known that if anybody rigs 2027, we will rig him. We want a free, fair and credible election. Don’t give anybody an excuse. We need to make this country work. Nigerians should be proud to travel anywhere,” he said.
He also condemned alleged harassment of his supporters.
“So, go out and campaign. And for those who are harassing our supporters and innocent Nigerians, let me warn you again. Humility is not weakness. It is a virtue. Good behaviour is not weakness. Nobody has a monopoly on rascality. I am warning and pleading with everybody that enough is enough. I will go to every state and campaign in every Senatorial zone,” Obi added.
The NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, warned members against anti-party activities, insisting that supporters of Obi must work for NDC candidates from top to bottom.
“If you are supporting Peter Obi as presidential candidate, you cannot say, ‘Because I don’t like the face of my governorship candidate, I will back the one from opposition party. How do you then respect Obi when he becomes President? It had to be NDC from top to bottom. If you are supporting Peter Obi, you cannot back opposition governorship. When party is heading in one direction and you are going in other direction, that is anti-party activity,” Cleopas said.
National Leader, Seriake Dickson, said NDC was formed to prevent Nigeria from becoming one-party state.
“The main reason we formed this platform is to ensure that Nigeria does not become a one-party state. APC promised to secure Nigeria. Have they secured it? They promised to fight corruption since 2015. Have they done it? They vowed to turn around economy. They have turned around economy, clearly. But it is for the worse. They have taken our economy from top to bottom,” Dickson said.
The party also disclosed revenue of N8.53bn within eight months of registration, with N6.13bn remaining after expenditure of N2.40bn, according to National Treasurer Dr Peter Onigah.
The NDC also inaugurated its national secretariat in Jabi, Abuja, which will serve as presidential campaign headquarters, and inaugurated its campaign council with Dickson as Chairman and Obi as Co-chairman, Cleopas as Vice Chairman, Kwankwaso as Co-vice Chairman, Babachir Lawal as Advisory Council Chairman, Ikenna Enekweizu as Secretary and Ibrahim Abdulkarim as DG.
