Atiku, Obi Unite In Fresh Bid To Unseat Tinubu

…Nigerians Die While You Rest In Europe — Atiku

…Obi Faults N37.64bn Travel Spending, Urges Nigerians To Vote Out Tinubu

The 2027 presidential contest is already taking the shape of war of words as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have launched fresh attacks on President Bola Tinubu, urging Nigerians to reject his administration over worsening economic hardship and what they described as misplaced priorities.

While Atiku challenged Tinubu over the rising cost of living, fuel prices, subsidy reforms and the government’s handling of public funds, Obi focused on the president’s frequent foreign trips, accusing him of abandoning pressing domestic challenges to embark on vacations abroad.

The latest attacks came as Tinubu embarked on another three-week holiday in Europe, with both opposition figures questioning the timing of the trip amid economic hardship, insecurity and concerns over access to basic services.

Atiku said Tuesday that the central issue confronting Nigeria was not political rivalry but the inability of millions of citizens to afford basic necessities.

“Tinubu, the issue is not Atiku. The issue is that Nigerians can no longer afford to live,” Atiku said.

He said Tinubu had devoted a substantial part of his latest statement, released on X, to attacking his economic position without mentioning him by name.

Atiku said his concern was with Nigerians struggling with the rising cost of food, transportation, education, healthcare and other necessities, insisting that the success of economic policies should ultimately be measured by their impact on ordinary citizens.

“Atiku has more important people to engage directly: the mother struggling to feed her children; the civil servant whose salary disappears into transportation; the farmer paying more to move produce to market; the student being pushed into debt simply to remain in school; and millions of Nigerians whose daily reality bears no resemblance to the prosperity advertised in your tweets,” he said.

The ADC presidential candidate also questioned the timing of the Federal Government’s recent promise to provide cheaper transportation, increase food production and introduce relief measures for vulnerable Nigerians.

He said Nigerians had endured high transport fares, rising food prices, expensive energy and declining purchasing power for more than three years.

“Why did Nigerians have to suffer for more than three years before your government discovered that economic growth must reach ‘the dining table and the pocket’?” he asked.

Atiku accused the administration of inconsistency, arguing that policies aimed at reducing the cost of living were criticised when proposed by him but were now being embraced by the government.

“You cannot condemn cheaper living when Atiku proposes it and rename the same objective Renewed Hope when you promise it. That is not economic consistency. It is political convenience,” he said.

He also criticised the current petrol price, comparing Nigeria’s roughly N1,400 per litre with prices in other oil-producing countries.

Atiku cited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algeria, Angola and the United Arab Emirates, where he said petrol sells at lower prices. He also cited Libya, where he said petrol sells at roughly N34 per litre despite the country’s political instability.

“How did your celebrated reform leave Nigerians paying vastly more for fuel while enjoying a lower standard of human development?” he asked.

“That is not merely a pump-price debate. It is an affordability scandal.”

Atiku said high petrol prices affected transportation, agriculture, food distribution, manufacturing and household expenses because the cost was passed through various stages of the supply chain before goods reached consumers.

He said his proposed Atiku Economic Recovery Plan (AERP) would seek to reduce costs at source rather than allow prices to rise before government intervention through palliatives.

According to him, the plan would support Nigerian crude supplied for domestic refining under a capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited framework, with refined products monitored to ensure consumers benefit.

“The economics is straightforward. Reduce fuel costs and you reduce pressure on transportation. Reduce transportation costs and you reduce the cost of moving tomatoes, rice, yam, livestock and manufactured goods,” he said.

“Reduce those costs and more of a worker’s income remains available for food, rent, education and healthcare. That is structural relief.”

Atiku also rejected the government’s reliance on the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as evidence that education had become affordable.

“Celebrating NELFUND as proof that education has become affordable under your government is like setting school fees on fire and then boasting that you lent students a bucket of water,” he said.

“A student loan is not a scholarship. It is a liability.”

He said his approach would focus on reducing the underlying cost of education and providing forgiveness for qualifying student debts.

“Education should open doors, not mortgage the future,” Atiku said.

He further challenged the Federal Government to publish details supporting its claim that his proposed intervention could affect NELFUND, workers’ salaries or the minimum wage.

“If your government has the arithmetic, Bola, publish it. Show Nigerians, line by line, how a transparently budgeted subsidy tied to Nigerian crude and domestic refining suddenly empties NELFUND or workers’ pay packets,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the impact of petrol subsidy removal, saying the Federal Government had stated that the policy mobilised about N15.8 trillion between June 2023 and December 2025.

“Nigerians surrendered cheap fuel. They paid more for transportation. They paid more for food. They watched the value of their wages collapse,” he said.

He demanded explanations on what measurable improvements Nigerians received in return for the sacrifices associated with subsidy removal.

The former vice president also called for a comprehensive reconciliation of nearly N30 trillion identified across Federation Account revenues, deductions, savings, transfers and related entries.

He further demanded transparency over Import Duty Exemption Certificate approvals covering about N34 trillion worth of imports in 2025.

Atiku questioned the timing of Tinubu’s promise that relief measures would be introduced “in the next few weeks”, especially with the 2027 elections approaching.

“So when you suddenly announce that relief is coming ‘in the next few weeks,’ Nigerians are entitled to ask: Why now?” he said.

He accused the administration of offering what he described as “a temporary dose of political anaesthesia” after years of economic hardship.

Atiku also took aim at Tinubu’s stay in Europe, saying Nigerians continued to face severe economic difficulties while the president was away.

“While you rest in Europe, millions of Nigerian parents lie awake at night, staring at empty cupboards and wondering how they will face their children in the morning. That is the reality on our streets,” he said.

Similarly, Obi urged Nigerians to vote Tinubu out of office in 2027, criticising the president’s latest foreign vacation at a time he said the country was facing serious economic and security challenges.

Obi said Nigerians were struggling to afford food and transportation, while insecurity continued to ravage communities and prevent thousands of children from accessing education.

“Yet, at this critical moment, the President has left the country for another holiday,” Obi said.

He also referenced the reported abduction of about 600 Nigerians, predominantly women, children and elderly persons, during Juma’at prayers in Niger State.

The NDC presidential candidate raised concerns over reported government expenditure on presidential trips and related travel expenses.

According to Obi, government expenditure on presidential trips and related travel expenses between June 2023 and April 2026 amounted to about N37.64bn, while Tinubu reportedly spent approximately 261 days outside Nigeria during the period.

Obi contrasted the reported spending with funding for the health sector, claiming that only N36 million was released to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025 despite a capital allocation of N218bn.

“This is the calamity befalling our country today,” Obi said.

He argued that a government that could spend billions of naira on presidential travel while critical sectors allegedly remained underfunded should not be allowed to continue in office.

“A government that can spend tens of billions on presidential travel while critical sectors remain starved of funds, and Nigerians are asked to endure worsening hardship, must not be allowed to continue,” he said.

Obi said leadership was fundamentally about setting the right priorities and urged Tinubu to focus on addressing challenges confronting Nigerians rather than repeatedly travelling abroad.

“Leadership is about priorities,” he said.

“When citizens cannot feed their families, move safely, access healthcare, send their children to school, or sleep peacefully in their homes, the President should be more concerned about fixing the country than repeatedly leaving it.”

The former Anambra State governor also advocated greater patronage of domestic tourism, saying the Nigerian president should lead efforts to promote the country’s tourism potential.

“I look forward to a Nigeria where our President can vacation in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Cross River State, Bauchi, Ebonyi, and many other destinations across our country,” he said.

Obi said tourism could create jobs and support hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts and small businesses, while generating investment and foreign exchange.

“Tourism creates jobs. It supports hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts, and small businesses. It brings investment and foreign exchange and allows communities to benefit directly from their natural and cultural assets,” he said.

He also criticised what he described as the practice of exporting Nigeria’s wealth while importing pleasures that could be enjoyed within the country.

“We cannot continue to export our wealth and import our pleasures while our own enormous potential remains neglected,” Obi said.

He said Nigerians deserved leadership that prioritised the country’s interests, cared for citizens and formulated policies capable of improving their living conditions.

“We deserve leadership that puts Nigeria first; leadership that cares and plans for a better Nigeria. That is the kind of leadership that the partnership between H.E. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and me will bring,” Obi said.