President Bola Tinubu has launched a scathing attack on key opposition figures ahead of the 2027 presidential election, labeling the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Peter Obi and former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as “cowards” who ran away from challenges rather than resolving them.
Tinubu, who did not mention either politician by name, appeared to refer to Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, as the Obi from Anambra, and Atiku, who joined the African Democratic Congress after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), urged the Nigerian electorate to reject both candidates and re-elect the All Progressives Congress (APC) to guarantee continuity and economic progress.
Speaking during a high-profile campaign event at a reclaimed erosion site turned luxury resort in Akwa Ibom State on Friday, the President noted that both leaders were unfit to rule the country, saying anyone who wants to lead Nigeria must be ready to take up challenges just as he did to rescue the country from economic collapse.
Addressing a fired-up crowd of party faithful, the President took aim at Obi’s tenure as Governor of Anambra State, questioning his administrative capacity to lead Africa’s largest economy.
“Look at these people; you want to laugh. Here we are on a resort reclaimed from erosion, and we are enjoying this life here. You want to compare this brain [of Governor Umo Eno] with the one of Obi? He ran away from the erosion in Anambra, and he now wants to be the President. President of where? Lilliput?”
Turning his gaze toward Atiku Abubakar, the APC national leader mocked the former Vice President’s political history and his recent departure from the PDP.
“And the other one is still fighting the roads in Adamawa and every road where he comes from,” Tinubu added.
“PDP was a party which some of you people here believed in initially. But immediately, a little decline came; he ran away. He abandoned the party. He is now in ADC or somewhere, and he is looking for the presidency. Would you give such a person such a position?”
“He has no leadership quality, no sense of responsibility, no sense of cohesion that can do good to this country,” the President declared.
Framing the upcoming poll as a defining moment for the nation’s future, President Tinubu defended his administration’s bold policy decisions—specifically the controversial removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
He argued that without those painful reforms, Nigeria would have collapsed into catastrophic insolvency.
“When I took over, 27 governors were unable to pay their salaries. But today we are out of the dark tunnel,” President Tinubu said, beating his chest.
“We are out of the dark tunnel of uncertainty and calamitous possible bankruptcy. If I did not take critical decisions after my inauguration, we could have been moving our Naira with wheelbarrows because it would have become valueless. The dollar to Naira would have risen to an unimaginable height, and inflation would have been beyond control.”
Acknowledging the hardship experienced across households, Tinubu dismissed critics who label him out of touch with everyday realities.
“Going by history, they say I am a comfortable man and that I do not know the pain of the market. But I share your pains and difficulty daily. That was why I took the responsibility of tuition fees away from parents to ensure equal opportunity for everyone who wants to study. I believe education is the greatest weapon against poverty.”
The President firmly ruled out a return to the past, declaring: “Nigeria is not going back to subsidy; we are going forward.”
He urged party supporters to remain united and mobilize en masse to secure victory for the APC at the polls.