Presidency Rejects Obi’s Tinubu Resignation Call, Points To Polls
The Presidency has dismissed as “childish, hollow and an unworthy distraction” the call by Nigerian Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi for President Bola Tinubu’s resignation, framing the demand as a misreading of Nigeria’s constitutional order and a reaction to the All Progressives Congress’s recent electoral gains.
In a statement signed on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency argued that Obi’s comparison of Tinubu to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation hours earlier on June 22, exposed a misunderstanding of governance systems. “Obi forgets our country does not run a parliamentary system of government like the UK,” the statement read, stressing that Nigeria operates a presidential system with a fixed four-year term.
Obi had said his appeal was inspired by Starmer’s planned July exit, writing on X that his interest lies in “examining what successful nations do right.” Starmer, who led Labour to a landslide in 2024, stepped aside after losing the confidence of his parliamentary party, clearing the path for Andy Burnham to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade.
The Presidency tied its rebuttal to the just-concluded polls. APC’s Biodun Oyebanji was re-elected Ekiti governor on June 20, polling 319,224 votes across all 16 local government areas, far ahead of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Wole Oluyede, who scored 40,543, and the African Democratic Congress’s Dare Bejide, with 12,872. The Presidency described the outcome, alongside senatorial by-election wins in Nasarawa, Enugu, Ondo and Rivers, as “an early referendum of sorts,” warning that the results were “more concerning for Peter Obi” ahead of the January 2027 election.
On the economy, the statement disputed Obi’s claim that Nigeria was in its “worst possible condition.” It said the economy had posted positive growth every quarter since May 2023, that foreign reserves had risen above $50 billion, and that oil output had climbed from under one million barrels per day to about 1.8 million. It projected federation revenue above N30 trillion this year, against N7.7 trillion in 2022, and claimed the All-Share Index had risen from 50,000 to over 250,000. These figures are the Presidency’s own assertions and were not independently set out in the statement.
The Presidency also cited security gains, saying over 15,000 terrorists had been removed and hostages rescued in Borno and the North West, while accusing Obi of a “colossal failure” on security as Anambra governor, referencing assessments by his successor, Willie Obiano.
It acknowledged that the high cost of living “remained a challenge,” attributing part of it to global disruptions, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the American and Israeli strike on Iran.
The exchange revives a familiar rivalry. Obi contested the February 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party ticket, finishing third with about 6.1 million votes, behind Tinubu’s 8.8 million and the PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, who polled 6.9 million. In May 2026, Obi moved to the NDC, clinching its ticket for his 2027 bid. With the campaign season approaching, the latest clash signals the tone likely to define the months ahead.