Obi says Tinubu ignored Oyo governor for 50 days after school abduction

Peter Obi claims President Tinubu has not contacted Governor Makinde more than 50 days after bandits abducted 37 pupils and teachers in Oyo State.

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has intensified pressure on President Bola Tinubu over the worsening security situation in the country. He alleged that the President failed to personally reach out to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde more than 50 days after bandits abducted 37 pupils and teachers in the state.

Obi, who disclosed details of a recent visit to Makinde in Ibadan, said he was taken aback after the governor informed him that he had not received a single telephone call from the President since the May 15 attack on a school in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo. The former Anambra State governor described the alleged lack of communication as disturbing and said it reflected a deficit of compassion and leadership at the highest level of government.

“The government and people of Oyo State, more than 50 days after the abduction of the schoolchildren without any tangible effort toward their rescue, should rightly feel bitter and abandoned,” Obi said in a statement.

He recalled that during his tenure as governor of Anambra State, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan regularly contacted state governors whenever serious security incidents occurred. “But, to my utmost shock, I discovered that, contrary to my assumption that they had been in regular communication over the matter, Governor Seyi Makinde had not received a single call from President Bola Tinubu,” Obi said.

Drawing comparisons with the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, Obi said Tinubu, then an opposition leader, was among those who criticised Jonathan’s handling of the crisis and demanded his resignation over delayed presidential intervention. “Today, under President Tinubu, there have been more than 13 school kidnappings, yet the President has found it difficult to call the affected state’s chief executive after more than 50 days. This is outrageous,” Obi said.

He consequently renewed his demand for Tinubu to either resign from office or decline to seek another term in 2027. He argued that the appeal was driven by national interest rather than partisan considerations. “This call is patriotic, not political. A new Nigeria is possible,” he declared.

The winners: Peter Obi, who has gained political capital from the issue. The losers: the families of the 37 abducted pupils and teachers, who remain in captivity, and the Tinubu administration, which faces mounting criticism over its handling of the crisis.

Bottom Line: 50 days, 37 captives, zero presidential calls. That is not a security strategy. That is neglect.