Oyo School Abduction: Tinubu Has’nt Called Makinde 50 Days After Kidnap — Obi

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for allegedly failing to reach out to Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde more than 50 days after the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Ogbomoso, describing the development as a reflection of a worsening leadership crisis.

In a statement issued on Monday, Obi said he was shocked to learn that Tinubu had not spoken with Makinde over the incident, despite the prolonged captivity of the victims, which he described as a national tragedy.

Obi said he travelled to Ibadan on Friday alongside economist and political activist Pat Utomi to express solidarity with Makinde over the abduction and discuss the security situation.

According to him, it was during the meeting that he discovered the President had not contacted the Oyo governor over the incident.

“During our two-hour meeting, I shared my experience in addressing insecurity as Governor of Anambra State. I recalled how President Olusegun Obasanjo, and later Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, would personally call us several times whenever we faced major security challenges,” Obi said.

“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.”

The former Anambra governor said the President’s response contrasted sharply with the outrage that followed the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

“I vividly recall that the current President, Bola Tinubu, led a team of vocal critics who called for President Jonathan’s immediate resignation over the incident, citing his delay in calling the state governor,” he said.

“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 (over seven weeks). This is outrageous.”

Obi said the government’s handling of insecurity had left many Nigerians feeling abandoned, arguing that the continued abduction of schoolchildren and other citizens reflected a deeper failure of governance.

“I cannot imagine any issue more important than the lives of our kidnapped children, their teachers, and the many other Nigerians being held captive across the country. It is now an indisputable fact that governance has completely collapsed under this administration,” he added.

“The situation reflects a total lack of capacity and compassion, compounded by glaring insensitivity.”

Renewing his earlier call for Tinubu to step down, Obi said the President should either resign or decline to seek another term if he could not provide the leadership needed to tackle the country’s security challenges.

“Amid such an apparent display of incompetence, the President should either resign or, at the very least, abstain from seeking re-election for the sake of our dear country. This call is patriotic, not political,” Obi said.