Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State, claiming Governor Seyi Makinde told him he had not received a single phone call from the President since the incident.
In a statement shared on his social media pages, Obi said he visited Governor Makinde in Ibadan on Friday, July 3, alongside economist and public policy advocate Professor Pat Utomi, to express solidarity over the continued captivity of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to Obi, he was surprised when Makinde allegedly informed him that President Tinubu had not contacted him since the abduction occurred more than 50 days earlier.
“To my utmost shock, I discovered that, contrary to my assumption that they had been in regular communication over the matter, Governor Seyi Makinde had not received a single call from President Bola Tinubu,” Obi wrote.
Obi Compares Incident to Chibok Kidnapping
The former Anambra State governor drew comparisons between the current security situation and the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Obi recalled that then-opposition leader Bola Tinubu had criticised Jonathan over the government’s handling of the Chibok crisis and had called for his resignation.
According to Obi, the current administration has witnessed more than a dozen school kidnapping incidents, making the President’s alleged lack of direct communication with affected state governors difficult to justify.
“I vividly recall that the current President, Bola Tinubu, led a team of vocal critics who called for President Jonathan’s immediate resignation over the incident,” Obi stated.
Calls on Tinubu to Reconsider Re-election Bid
Obi argued that the continued insecurity across the country reflects what he described as a failure of leadership.
He accused the Federal Government of lacking both the capacity and compassion required to address the country’s worsening security challenges.
The Labour Party leader said President Tinubu should either resign from office or decline to seek re-election in 2027 if the administration cannot effectively tackle insecurity.
“The President should either resign or, at the very least, abstain from seeking re-election for the sake of our dear country. This call is patriotic, not political,” Obi said.
Visit to Governor Makinde
Obi explained that he travelled to Ibadan after publicly commenting on the abduction on two previous occasions and appealing to the kidnappers to release the victims.
He added that he also spoke with Governor Makinde by telephone before deciding to pay a personal visit.
During their meeting, Obi said he shared his experience in tackling insecurity while serving as Governor of Anambra State and recalled how former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan regularly contacted state governors whenever major security incidents occurred.
Background
The abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has generated concern over the security of schools and the pace of rescue efforts.
As of the time Obi made his statement, the incident had remained unresolved for more than 50 days, according to his account.
Neither the Presidency nor Governor Seyi Makinde had publicly responded to Obi’s specific claim that no phone call had been made between the President and the governor regarding the incident at the time of filing this report.
