By Precious Mark
Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has alleged that President Bola Tinubu has failed to place a single phone call to Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State, since the abduction of schoolchildren in the state more than 50 days ago.
Speaking on Monday, Obi expressed profound shock over the absolute silence from the presidency toward the Oyo State leadership following the May 15 abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.
The former Anambra State Governor explained that he uncovered the total breakdown in federal-state communication during a solidarity visit to Ibadan on Friday, July 3, alongside Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy.
Obi noted that he had traveled to the state capital under the assumption that the presidency was in regular communication with the state leadership, only to discover that not a single phone call had been put through to the governor.
Drawing a sharp contrast with past administrations, Obi recalled that former leaders, including Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan, consistently maintained direct personal lines with state executives whenever major security emergencies threatened any part of the federation.
He reminded Nigerians that during the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ crisis, Tinubu led a faction of vocal critics demanding the immediate resignation of Goodluck Jonathan, the President at the time, because it took him over two weeks to call the affected state governor.
Obi argued that since more than 13 school abductions have occurred under the current administration with zero presidential outreach after seven weeks, the call for Tinubu’s immediate resignation is now a patriotic necessity.
Describing the current state of governance as a complete collapse driven by insensitivity and lack of empathy, the NDC candidate maintained that the lives of Nigerian children must transcend political affiliations.
He urged the President to either step down from office or drop any plans of seeking re-election for the sake of national survival.