The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko has dared President Bola Tinubu to agree to a live debate with the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
NEWSNGR reports that the challenge follows the All Progressives Congress dismissal of Obi’s recent criticism of the Tinubu administration, with the ruling party insisting that Nigeria’s economic reforms require continuity rather than a change in direction.
Obi had, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, declared that President Tinubu was “too tired” to continue leading Nigeria, urging him to step aside because he allegedly lacked the capacity to tackle the country’s worsening economic and security crises.
Sharing his thoughts on an interview with Punch, Tanko said rather than deploying surrogates to attack Obi, Tinubu should agree to a live television debate to defend his administration’s record.
He said, “I dare them (Obi’s critics) to refute what Obi has said. Let them speak to the issues he raised and tell us if they are not fundamental. Obviously, they can’t.
“Nigerians are killed daily, and there is hunger in the land.
“The education sector is seriously lagging. It is being thrown below the standard level. Is it not true that we have a fake agency financed by this government?
“So, you see, these are irrefutable facts that they are finding difficult to deal with.
“It will be interesting if Tinubu can agree to debate with Mr Peter Obi on a live television programme.
“Let him challenge him one-on-one. We are not talking about all those his surrogates jumping up and down here.
“Let him speak to issues, especially what he has done. Let him address the salient points Obi raised in his interview, assuming he can do it.
“He is not a man who can endure one hour of a gruelling debate, let alone the two hours Obi spent on set. We are waiting. Let them come.”
Asked whether he also agreed with Obi’s position that Tinubu should step aside over what the former governor described as failure in office, Tanko insisted that the administration had failed to address the country’s pressing challenges.
He said, “Isn’t it obvious to everyone? So, it is Obi’s word against his. If this is another country, and the presidency commits just one out of all these shenanigans that are happening in this government, the nation will burn.
“I just don’t want to salute the patience of Nigerians. They are meticulously patient. See the trillions of naira budgeted for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. When you put this into our educational sector, a huge number of children would have benefited from it. But here we are, wasting such resources on phantom projects.”
The APC, however, dismissed the challenge and Obi’s criticisms as politically insignificant.
When contacted by the aforementioned publication for reaction, the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said the former LP presidential candidate did not deserve a response.
“No serious-minded person should dignify Obi’s ranting with a reply,” Basiru said.
When asked whether the ruling party was concerned about Obi’s perceived electoral threat ahead of the 2027 polls, he responded tersely, “(There is) no polling unit online.”
