“Suspend your France trip, Nigerians dying” – Peter Obi tells Tinubu

Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to suspend his ongoing retreat in France and return to Nigeria to address the growing security crisis.

Obi’s appeal, posted on his official X account on Wednesday, comes as the country grapples with increasing violence and communal clashes.

In his statement, Obi highlighted the severity of the security situation, pointing to the deaths of over 150 Nigerians in the past two weeks, particularly in Plateau and Zamfara states.

He also drew attention to the ongoing insurgency in Borno State and the alarming rise in killings and abductions in the Southeast. Additionally, Obi noted that pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta.

The former governor of Anambra State emphasized that the President’s continued stay in France would only worsen the situation.

He urged Tinubu to cut short his foreign trip, which the Presidency initially described as a “working visit,” following widespread speculation about the true reason for his departure.

The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, had previously denied claims by activist Omoyele Sowore that the trip was for medical treatment.

In Obi’s words;

“I am compelled, at this time in our lives as a nation, to call on our retreating President’s attention to the security challenges at home, which requires that he immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in a foreign land and come home to address the overwhelming security situation across the country.”

“In the two weeks you have been away, over 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to insecurity across Nigeria, especially in Plateau and Zamfara states. The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta further reflect a nation in distress. In the North East, Borno State leaders are bemoaning the return of insurgency, with troops and civilians being killed randomly. In the Southeast, the story is the same: killings and abductions. Amid all these, the CEO of the troubled company called Nigeria is retreating to a faraway land in France from the company’s headquarters.”

“I, therefore, urge Mr. President to quickly suspend whatever he is doing in France and return home to take responsibility by addressing these disturbing issues. That is the new Nigeria that the nation seeks.”

The President, who left Nigeria on April 2, is expected to return in about two weeks, according to his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.