Obi Urges Tinubu To Return From France As Afenifere Decries Insecurity And Governance Failings.
Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to suspend his ongoing visit to France and urgently return to Nigeria to address the escalating wave of insecurity gripping the nation.
Obi’s appeal, made via his official X account on Tuesday, comes amid growing concern over increasing killings and unrest in various parts of the country, including Plateau and Zamfara states. According to Obi, over 150 Nigerians have been killed during the President’s two-week absence, a situation he described as unacceptable given the scale of the nation’s security crisis.
“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. This entails that he immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in a foreign land and come home to address the overwhelming security situation across the country,” Obi stated.
He added: “In the two weeks you have been away, over 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to insecurity. The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta reflect a nation in distress. In the North East, insurgency is resurfacing, claiming the lives of both troops and civilians. In the South East, killings and abductions continue unabated. Amid all these, the CEO of the troubled company, called Nigeria, is retreating in faraway France from the company’s headquarters.”
Obi’s remarks follow a denial by the Presidency that Tinubu’s trip was for medical purposes. Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, had earlier stated on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* that the President’s trip was purely a working visit. The clarification was made in response to claims by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, who alleged that Tinubu had travelled to France to seek medical attention.
Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that the President departed Nigeria on 2 April and is expected to return in about a fortnight.
Meanwhile, pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has joined in expressing alarm over the current state of affairs under the Tinubu administration. In a statement signed by its leader, Oba Oladipo Olaita, and National Publicity Secretary, Justice Faloye, the group accused the government of eroding the fundamental pillars of democratic federalism.
According to Afenifere, the administration has adopted increasingly autocratic tendencies, citing the suppression of civil liberties, the usurpation of powers, and the banning of dissenting voices such as Eedris Abdulkareem’s song *Tell Your Papa*.
The group also criticised Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, which it said had triggered hyperinflation, rising unemployment and a sharp decline in citizens’ purchasing power.
Afenifere called for urgent reforms, including the creation of state police forces, to bolster the country’s overstretched internal security architecture and restore public confidence in governance.
“The administration’s policies are destroying the basic structures of the federation, exacerbating vulnerabilities and stifling democratic freedoms,” the group concluded.
As the insecurity crisis deepens and public dissatisfaction grows, calls for the President’s return and decisive leadership continue to mount across various quarters.
