Obi is calling on the Tinubu administration to take decisive action on the growing insecurity in the country. The call came following the renewed security breaches in some parts of the country, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where gunmen have wrecked some heinous brutality in the last few days.
Interestingly, President Tinubu on Tuesday met with service chiefs and other top brass of security agencies at the State House in Abuja.
The service chiefs are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
The meeting also had in attendance the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The meeting was to address the rising terrorism, kidnapping and killings across the country.
Before then, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, convened a crucial meeting with his Management Team and Tactical Squads, on Monday, January 15, to also address the rising concerns surrounding insecurity in the country.
The police big boss expressed deep concern over the unfortunate abductions in the FCT and emphasized the need for decisive action to curb such heinous crimes.
However, Obi, a former governor of Anambra State in a statement described the recent killings of two abducted young girls in Abuja as depressing. He said it is now time for the leaders to take all forms of serious measures to tackle the situation.
He also took a swipe at the past administration of former President Muhammedu Buhari, pointing out that despite campaigning and winning election on three items – security, economy and corruption – eight years in the office, the situation got really bad in all three areas.
Continuing, Obi who also indicted the present administration, pointed out that on assuming office, Tinubu promised to tackle rising insecurity, ailing economy and the monster called corruption but today, the situation has even gotten worse than ever.
According to him, it is time to stop all forms of foreign trips by government officials until the ugly situation facing the nation at home is dealt with, adding that no foreign investor or partner will like to invest in Nigeria, with the current security situation.
“As terror attacks, banditry, kidnappings and violence continue to rage through the country, it is more concerning now with the surge of violence spreading through the FCT, Abuja.
“The recent killings of two abducted young girls in Abuja makes it more depressing and urgent. It is now time for us, the leaders, to take all forms of serious measures to tackle the situation.
“It is unfortunate that ex-President Buhari, in 2015, campaigned and won the elections on three items: Security, Economy and Corruption (SEC). After his eight years in office, the situation has worsened in all three areas.
“The present administration, on assuming office, promised to deal decisively with the same situation – SEC. Today, however, the situation is getting even worse than ever.
“At the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held in Lagos in August 2022, the then Vice Presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, categorically stated that if APC is elected, he as vice president will be incharge of security, while the president as an expert in economy will handle the economy.
“Nigerians therefore now implore them to fulfill their campaign promises. Even if they do not achieve 100% results, we want to see 100% effort. It is now time to stop all forms of foreign trips from people in government, until we deal with the ugly situation facing us at home.
“No foreign investor or partner will like to invest in Nigeria, with the situation we now find ourselves in. We must make sincere efforts to end the spread of violence and insecurity in our nation, in order to make any meaningful progress”, Obi said.
In the meantime, Obi who was the Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, won an online independent poll that was conducted to assess who Nigerians will like to become president in 2023.
The poll was conducted by www.mentimeter.com. It sampled other Nigerian political figures like Bukola Saraki, Babangida Zulum, Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Nasir Elrufai, Ben Bruce, and Nyesom Wike.
After Nigerians from all walks of life voted in the online independent poll, Saraki scored 4%, Zulum 10%, Tinubu 4%, Atiku 6%, El Rufai 2%, Ben Bruce 5%, Wike 2% and Obi 34%.
Obi scored above every other political heavy weight that were sampled in the poll by sweeping over 34% of the votes. During his administration as the governor of Anambra, Obi performed well which most likely made him to become a strong and capable force to reckon with.
Nigerians were and are still desperately looking for a competent hand that will change the political tide in the country after the Buhari administration failed to deliver on all its electoral promises to Nigerians.
Disturbingly, Tinubu does appear to be doing well with the exchange rate of the dollar hitting N1,300, a litre of premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol, selling at N800 in some parts of the country.
While corruption is worsening across the country, in Akwa Ibom State for instance, hunger is a big problem. This is because the Tinubu administration policy on fuel subsidy, and escalating exchange rate are driving food prices skyward.
