The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has claimed that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde told him President Bola Tinubu had not contacted him more than 50 days after the abduction of schoolchildren in the state.
In a post on X titled “Worsening Leadership Crisis in the Country Now Evident,” Obi said he had publicly appealed twice to the kidnappers to release the children and had spoken with Makinde twice to express solidarity, describing the incident as “a Nigerian tragedy” rather than an Oyo State problem.
Obi said he visited Ibadan on July 3 alongside economist Prof. Pat Utomi and was “shocked” to learn during discussions with Makinde that the governor had not received a single phone call from the President since the abduction.
The former Anambra State governor recalled that former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan regularly contacted governors during major security crises. He also noted that Tinubu had criticised Jonathan over his handling of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
Claiming that more than 13 school kidnappings have occurred under the current administration, Obi described the Federal Government’s response as evidence of a leadership crisis and alleged a lack of compassion and capacity. He called on Tinubu to either resign or decline to seek re-election, insisting his appeal was “patriotic, not political.”
The Presidency had not responded to Obi’s claims at the time of filing this report.
