Peter Obi Urges Tinubu to Suspend France Trip And Address Killings in Nigeria

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, on Wednesday urged President Bola Tinubu to put his retreat in France on hold and return to Nigeria to tackle the ongoing communal clashes and escalating violence across the country.

He made this known in a statement shared on his official X account.

This comes four days after the Presidency denied claims that Tinubu travelled to France for medical reasons, maintaining that it was a working visit.

The clarification was given by Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Bwala was responding to allegations made by activist and politician Omoyele Sowore, who said the President’s trip was for medical treatment.

Although Tinubu’s aide, Bayo Onanuga, stated that the President, who departed on April 2, is expected to return in “about a fortnight,” Sowore insisted in a Facebook post that the journey was health-related.

Obi, however, cautioned that the President’s prolonged absence could worsen the already alarming state of insecurity in the country.

He said, “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 entails 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 2 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, like to urge Mr President to quickly suspend whatever he is doing in France and rush home to take responsibility by addressing these disturbing issues. That is the new Nigeria that the nation seeks.”