Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in France and return home to tackle the deepening security crisis gripping the nation.
In a statement on his X account (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday, Obi decried what he termed the “apparent absence of governance” and accused the president of ignoring widespread violence and bloodshed across Nigeria while staying abroad.
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“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,” Obi stated. “It entails that he immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in a foreign land and come home to address the overwhelming security situation across the country.”
The former Anambra State governor cited recent incidents of insecurity in multiple regions, emphasizing that the country is spiraling into chaos during the president’s absence. According to Obi, “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.”
He also referenced multiple pipeline explosions in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the resurgence of insurgency in the North-East, and a wave of abductions and killings in the South-East.
“The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta further reflect a nation in distress,” he said. “In the North East, Borno state leaders are bemoaning the return of insurgency with troops and civilians being killed randomly. In the South East, the story is the same: killings and abduction.”
Obi criticized what he described as the president’s “retreat from leadership,” likening Tinubu’s absence to a corporate CEO abandoning their post during a company-wide crisis.
“Amid all these, the CEO of the troubling company called Nigeria is retreating [to a] far away land in France from the Company’s headquarters,” Obi said pointedly. “One wonders the type of retreat going on in another country where peace has been secured by their leaders while blood continues to flow in our country.”
Stressing that leadership demands presence and responsiveness, Obi reminded the president that the foremost duty of government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
“The primary duty of any government is securing the lives and property of its citizens,” he said. “The fight for a better Nigeria is not about individuals; it is about ensuring that every citizen can see, feel, and benefit from the policies and decisions of those in power.”
He concluded his statement with an urgent appeal: “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.”
The presidency is yet to respond to Obi’s remarks. However, many Nigerians online have echoed the former candidate’s sentiments, citing frustration over the growing insecurity and lack of visible leadership at a critical time.
 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in France and return home to tackle the deepening security crisis gripping the nation.){kind=link}