Obi Urges Tinubu To Step Aside, Says “Nigeria Needs New Leadership”

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to step aside ahead of the 2027 general election, arguing that Nigeria needs a leader with the energy and capacity to confront its worsening economic and security challenges.
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Obi made the remarks during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he said the President’s performance in office had fallen short of what the country requires.

Drawing a distinction between Tinubu’s tenure as Lagos State governor and his current administration, Obi said, “The Bola Tinubu that was governor is not the one that is president today. He’s tired. He should be allowed to retire in peace and then go home.”

The former Anambra State governor maintained that Nigeria was moving in the wrong direction under the current administration.

“As it is right now, Bola Tinubu is leading us nowhere. We will turn it so he can see it. That’s why maybe I’m calling for his retirement. The man should just step aside. Yes, he doesn’t have the capacity to do the job,” he said.

Obi also expressed concern over what he described as Nigeria’s worsening poverty, hunger and insecurity, saying public discourse should focus on the country’s pressing challenges rather than politics.

Citing recent poverty projections, he said, “The World Bank has just said that 79 per cent of Nigerians are going to face poverty. In a country of 230 million people, that’s over 180 million. That should be the issue we should be discussing.”

He added that issues such as education, healthcare and public spending deserved greater attention.

“They should be talking about the issue of out-of-school children, talking about the issue of health, and all these monies that are missing here and there that would have been invested properly. Nobody is discussing it,” Obi said.

On food insecurity, the former governor argued that the 2027 election should centre on improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“This election in 2027 should be about issues that affect ordinary Nigerians. The World Food Programme has just said 35 million Nigerians are going to face hunger. Nigerians are being kidnapped. Let’s talk about Nigeria,” he said.

Responding to comments by United States President Donald Trump commending Tinubu’s efforts to tackle insecurity, Obi acknowledged the recognition but insisted more needed to be done.

“Thank you to Donald Trump. Thank you to President Trump. But we need to do more, far more than what we are doing,” he said.

Obi added, “I’ve heard people, and Donald Trump is now confirming it, say he has done his best. But with the crisis we are facing, his best is not enough. We need to do more.”

“On Wednesday, 40 people were abducted in Zamfara, and the entire community, everybody is packing to run away. On Thursday, 50 were abducted. So we’re in a crisis situation that requires another capacity,” he said.

Obi argued that lasting security could only be achieved by addressing poverty and expanding access to education.

“You can’t create mass poverty and think you can deal with insecurity. The more you put people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality. You need to invest massively in education,” he said.

He said that if elected president, he would personally take responsibility for protecting Nigerians.

“Whatever it takes to secure any Nigerian, I will do that,” Obi said, adding, “If your people are dying, you should be ready to die. You’re the president. You’re the number one person.”

Speaking on his 2027 ambition, Obi reiterated that his interest was not driven by a desire for political office but by his vision for the country.

“I’m not desperate to be Nigerian president. I’m desperate to see Nigeria work,” he said.

He added that he would support any leader capable of delivering good governance.

“If it’s working, I’ll support whatever makes it work,” Obi said.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s current state, Obi lamented what he described as a steady decline in living conditions.

Peter Obi, Tinubu

“Every year we’re headed south, where more and more people have been impoverished, more and more children are out of school. Things are going in the wrong direction,” he said.

He said his goal remained to build “a Nigeria that is united and peaceful” and where every citizen has equal opportunities irrespective of ethnic or religious background.
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NAF Completes Acceptance Of First M-346 Fighter Attack Aircraft, Boots Airpower And National Security

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has recorded another major milestone in its ongoing fleet modernisation programme with the successful completion of the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) for the first batch of three M-346 Fighter Attack (FA) aircraft at the Leonardo Aircraft Division facility in Venegono, Italy.
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Conducted by a joint delegation comprising representatives of the NAF and the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the exercise successfully concluded all contractual acceptance requirements ahead of the aircraft’s delivery to Nigeria. The achievement reinforces the Chief of the Air Staff’s command philosophy of building a highly motivated, professional and mission-ready force capable of delivering decisive airpower effects in synergy with surface forces.

The successful acceptance confirms that the three aircraft have met all required contractual, technical and airworthiness standards for delivery. Beyond the acceptance process, the delegation also engaged with Leonardo Aircraft Division on pilot and maintenance training, logistics support and long-term fleet sustainment, while inspecting advanced simulation and ground-based training systems that will strengthen indigenous training capacity, enhance operational readiness and ensure the effective employment of the M-346 fleet. Commenting on the milestone, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, stated that the M-346’s unique blend of advanced pilot training and frontline combat capability will significantly enhance the NAF’s ability to generate combat-ready aircrew while expanding its capacity to conduct precision strike, close air support, air interdiction and other air combat missions in response to Nigeria’s evolving security environment.

The milestone further underscores the Federal Government’s commitment, under the leadership of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to strengthening the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces through the acquisition of modern, technologically advanced and mission-ready platforms.

Airpower

As the Nigerian Air Force continues to modernise its fleet, it remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding Nigeria’s territorial integrity, supporting joint military operations and protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians through responsive, professional and decisive airpower.
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ADC Tells Tinubu: Security Demands Action Not Statements

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of creating the impression that some victims of insecurity matter more than others, urging him to provide updates and timelines for the rescue of 176 residents abducted from Woro community in Kaiama, Kwara State, who have remained in captivity since February 3, 2026.
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In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the President’s celebration of the recent rescue of abductees in Oyo State had prompted questions about the fate of victims still being held in Kaiama, Borno and other parts of the country. The ADC also cited the recent abduction of 40 residents in Zamfara, fresh attacks in Benue and the kidnapping of Kebbi High Court Judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, as evidence that insecurity remains widespread despite presidential assurances. It argued that repeated promises that insecurity would soon end were no longer convincing, describing Tinubu as “a professional statement-maker” on security issues, and urged him to demonstrate through action that every Nigerian life carries equal value.

The full statement read:

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is concerned by what is becoming an unmistakable pattern in the Tinubu administration’s response to insecurity: some victims receive swift presidential attention, while others are left to languish in silence. Every successful rescue of abducted Nigerians deserves to be celebrated. But the President must ensure that his actions do not create the impression that the value of a Nigerian life depends on where the victim comes from or whether the tragedy attracts national headlines. Leadership demands equal compassion for every citizen, because no country can build national unity on the basis of selective empathy and selective attention.

On Friday, July 24, 2026, residents of Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State staged a peaceful protest over the fate of 176 residents of Woro community abducted on February 3, 2026. More than 170 days later, their families are still asking the same questions: Where are their loved ones? What has the government done? When should they expect them home? Their protest was not political. It was the cry of citizens who fear that their loved ones have been forgotten.

The tragedy is not standing still; it is spreading. In Zamfara State, no fewer than 40 residents from 11 communities in Mayanchi District of Maru Local Government Area were recently abducted by bandits, most of them women and children, forcing terrified families to flee their homes. On Friday, July 24, fresh attacks again claimed lives in Benue’s Sankera axis. And in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, 2026, suspected bandits abducted a Judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence. Meanwhile, communities in Borno State continue to endure insurgent attacks and mass displacement. These are not isolated incidents. They are reminders that insecurity remains a daily reality for millions of Nigerians.

Following the public celebration surrounding the rescue of abductees in Oyo State, Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: what is the status of those still being held elsewhere? What progress has been made in securing the release of the 176 abductees from Kaiama? What is being done to rescue the women and children taken in Zamfara? What efforts are underway to secure the release of Justice Bunza? What updates are available on victims in Borno and other affected communities? The President owes Nigerians more than broad assurances. He owes them regular updates, timelines and evidence that no Nigerian community has been abandoned.

On Thursday, July 23, 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu again assured Nigerians that insecurity in the North would soon come to an end. We sincerely hope that promise becomes reality. But hope cannot survive indefinitely on declarations alone. There comes a point when repeated assurances, unaccompanied by visible results, cease to reassure. They simply become another headline in a long cycle of official optimism and public disappointment.

That is why many Nigerians no longer receive presidential statements on insecurity with the confidence they once did. The administration has become remarkably consistent in making reassuring pronouncements but far less convincing in delivering outcomes.

ADC

On one of the defining challenges of this government, the President is increasingly seen as a professional statement-maker, while communities continue to bury their dead, search for the missing and wait for rescues that never seem to come.

The ADC therefore calls on President Tinubu to demonstrate, through action rather than rhetoric, that every Nigerian life carries equal value. The people abducted in Woro on February 3 matter. The women and children abducted in Mayanchi, Zamfara matter. The families living under siege in Borno matter. The victims of fresh attacks in Benuematter. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza matters.

They deserve the same urgency, the same empathy and the same presidential attention that every rescued Nigerian rightly receives. Leadership is not measured by how quickly government celebrates a rescue; it is measured by whether no Nigerian is left behind or forgotten.

Signed:

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
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