*Hails Ganduje’s resignation, urges unfit leaders to take a cueChuks Okocha in Abuja

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s trip to Saint Lucia, calling it an ill-timed and insensitive decision in the face of deepening national crises.

This came as he had commended the former governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, for resigning as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, Obi said he was “struggling with my senses to understand what is happening to governance in this country.”
Tinubu had yesterday departed Nigeria and is expected to visit Saint Lucia, attend the BRICS summit in Brazil.

“What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want,” Obi declared.

Referring to the escalating insecurity and hunger ravaging the country, he added: “In the past two years, Nigeria has lost more people to all sorts of criminality than a country that is officially at war.

“Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from.”

Obi expressed disbelief upon learning of the president’s departure to the Caribbean nation, especially coming shortly after what he described as a holiday in Lagos.

It read, “With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.”

Citing a press briefing by Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, Obi noted that the visit included both official engagements and personal vacation.
“According to the Prime Minister’s announcement, ‘two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation,” he said.

Obi said he had initially dismissed the report as unbelievable: “I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos.

“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time.”
The former Anambra governor criticised the president’s failure to personally visit disaster-affected areas, including Minna in Niger State, where over 200 people were reportedly killed and 700 still missing due to flooding.

 “This is a president going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster,” Obi lamented.

He also condemned Tinubu’s recent visit to Makurdi, which he described as politicised.

Obi said, “The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi… for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack.”

Obi drew sharp comparisons between the size and population of Saint Lucia and the Nigerian cities neglected by the president.

“Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489,839, and Minna, with 532,000, is almost three times the population of St Lucia,” Obi quoted his stats in the post.

Calling for leadership anchored in empathy and urgency, Obi said: “I don’t think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops.

“This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace…”

He accused the administration of prioritising elites over the masses.

“This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed.

“One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number,” Obi’s tweet further read.

Concluding his fiery message, Obi urged national reflection and redirection.

He concluded, “Finally, I like to let our leaders know one thing: that the God-given resources of this country belong to all, not to a few.
“The time has come to put a stop to this drift before it consumes all and focus on pulling people out of poverty.”
Meanwhile, Obi has commended Ganduje for resigning as the National Chairman of the APC.

Ganduje had suddenly resigned from the party on Friday.

Reacting, Obi, a former governor of Anambra, commended Ganduje in a post on his X handle.

“I must commend Ganduje for prioritising his health above all else.

“With his health reportedly in decline, it is both wise and honourable to step aside, knowing that he may no longer be able to render the level of service required by the party, the people, and the nation.

“By this exemplary action, Ganduje has thrown a challenge to other leaders who, due to health-related issues, are no longer able to deliver optimally.

“I sincerely hope they take a cue from him”, he said.

He explained that the challenges confronting Nigeria required leaders who were competent, physically and mentally fit, with the capacity and agility to respond decisively and promptly to pressing issues.

“At this critical point and difficult time, we can no longer afford leadership defined by medical tourism, long holidays, or absenteeism caused by age-related ailments.

“These things are taking a serious toll on our development. May God Almighty grant Dr. Ganduje a peaceful and fulfilling retirement,” he added.

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