Following the second national grid meltdown in January, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi questioned President Bola Tinubu about his campaign pledge on electricity delivery.
Obi cited Tinubu’s 2022 presidential campaign commitment in a statement headlined “No Steady Power in Four Years, No Second Term” that was uploaded on his verified X account on Wednesday. Obi cautioned that the ongoing instability of Nigeria’s power industry went against that promise.
“President Bola Tinubu made a clear campaign pledge in 2022: ‘Do not vote for me for a second term if I do not provide steady electricity in my first four years,'” Obi stated.
He pointed out that even before the end of January 2026, the national grid had already failed twice in spite of the commitment.
“Yet, the national grid has already collapsed twice in January 2026 alone, and the month is not even over,” Obi stated, noting that “it collapsed about twelve times last year.”
He claims that Nigerians should be concerned about the frequent grid failures since they stand in stark contrast to the administration’s promises.
“This reality should worry every patriotic Nigerian because it sharply contradicts the promise,” he stated.
Obi also denounced the president’s frequent trips abroad, pointing out that Tinubu was in Turkey at the moment despite serious home issues.
He stated, “At the same time, the President is on another foreign trip, this time to Turkey, a country with about 87 million people—roughly a third of Nigeria’s population.”
Obi emphasized the difference in the potential to generate electricity between the two nations.
“Nigeria struggles with less than five percent of that capacity, while Turkey generates and distributes over 120,000 megawatts of electricity,” he said, characterizing the difference as “both striking and painful.”
Instead of going overseas, the former governor of Anambra State encouraged the president to concentrate on resolving Nigeria’s domestic issues.
At the current rate, Nigerians may “soon hear of trips to Palau or Vanuatu while critical issues remain unattended at home,” Obi said. “Our appeal is simple: stay at home and confront the nation’s problems.”
He also criticized what he called an overemphasis on the 2027 elections instead of governance.
Obi remarked, “And yet, our collective preoccupation seems to be the next election rather than how to secure good governance.”
He emphasized the need to address the suffering brought on by bad governance and urged Nigerians to demand accountability and responsible leadership.
Obi continued, “We should be banding together to demand accountability and responsible leadership, and to save Nigerians from the humiliation and suffering caused by persistent bad governance.”
