Peter Obi’s media office has criticized President Bola Tinubu for skipping major national events, arguing the president should engage directly with Nigerians rather than relying on aides and surrogates ahead of the 2027 election.
The Obi Media Office (POMR) faulted Tinubu’s absence from the National Peace Accord, convened by the National Peace Committee under former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, calling it disrespectful to the efforts of Abubakar, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and other stakeholders working to promote peaceful elections. The accord was signed on August 18 at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, with Tinubu represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume rather than attending in person.
“The Nigerian people need to see the candidate. They need to hear the candidate. They need to question the candidate,” the POMR said, extending its demand to other national platforms, including the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association conference, where presidential candidates are expected to engage citizens on critical national issues. The group argued that a president seeking a second term could not “permanently hide behind ministers, party officials, media aides, governors, or other” surrogates.
Obi is not alone in raising the issue. Other candidates who signed the peace accord in person — including AAC’s Omoyele Sowore, SDP’s Adewole Adebayo, and PRP’s Donald Duke — separately criticized Tinubu’s absence. Sowore said the president’s no-show suggested he did not treat the pact as a serious matter, given his role as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while Adebayo said it sent the wrong signal to security agencies and government officials about Tinubu’s commitment to peaceful elections.
The criticism comes as Nigeria’s presidential campaign period, which formally began August 19 ahead of the January 16, 2027 election, gets underway. On the first day of campaigning, Tinubu presided over a Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja — his first since June 29 — rather than campaigning directly, while Atiku Abubakar addressed voters via a Facebook Live session and Obi opened his campaign with a message centered on competence, character and accountability.
Obi has repeatedly raised similar concerns about presidential absences in the past year, including questioning Tinubu’s whereabouts amid economic hardship in January and criticizing the president for addressing victims of violence in Plateau State from an airport rather than visiting affected communities directly in April.
