Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his campaign promise on electricity supply following the second collapse of the national power grid in January.
In a statement shared on his verified X account on Wednesday and titled “No Steady Power in Four Years, No Second Term,” Obi revisited Tinubu’s 2022 campaign pledge on stable electricity, arguing that the repeated grid failures highlighted the persistent instability in Nigeria’s power sector and sharply contradicted the assurances made before the election.
“President Bola Tinubu’s campaign promise in 2022 was clear: ‘If I do not provide steady electricity in my first four years, do not vote for me for a second term,’” Obi stated.
He pointed out that despite this promise, the national grid had collapsed twice in January 2026 alone, even before the end of the month.
“Yet, in January 2026 alone, the national grid has already collapsed twice, and the month is not even over,” Obi said, adding that the grid collapsed about twelve times last year.
According to him, the recurring grid failures should be a source of serious concern for Nigerians, as they stand in stark contrast to the assurances given by the administration.
“This reality sharply contradicts the promise and should worry every patriotic Nigerian,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also criticised Tinubu’s frequent foreign travels, noting that the president was currently in Turkey while major domestic challenges continued to persist.
“At the same time, the President is on another foreign trip, this time to Turkey, a country of about 87 million people — roughly a third of Nigeria’s population,” Obi said.
Drawing a comparison between both countries, Obi highlighted the disparity in their electricity generation capacities.
“Yet Turkey generates and distributes over 120,000 megawatts of electricity, while Nigeria struggles with less than five per cent of that capacity. The contrast is both striking and painful,” he added.
He urged the president to focus on addressing Nigeria’s internal challenges rather than embarking on continued overseas trips.
“Our appeal is simple: stay at home and confront the nation’s problems,” Obi said, warning that if the trend continues, Nigerians might “soon hear of trips to Palau or Vanuatu while critical issues remain unattended at home.”
Obi further criticised what he described as an excessive focus on the 2027 elections instead of governance.
“And yet, our collective preoccupation seems to be the next election, rather than how to secure good governance,” he stated.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to demand accountability and responsible leadership, stressing the need to address the hardship caused by poor governance.
“We should be joining hands to demand accountability and responsible leadership, and to save Nigerians from the indignity and suffering caused by persistent bad governance,” Obi added.