The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has told President Bola Tinubu to undertake local trips and address the nation’s problems.
He said for the approximately 580 days Tinubu has been in office as of December 29, 2024, the president spent 180 days abroad, covering over 30 publicly recorded overseas trips across 16 countries.
Obi made the call on Thursday in Abuja on the state of the nation, adding that instead of the 180 days of trips the president made to foreign countries, Tinubu should visit the 36 states and spend at least two days in each state to assess the people’s needs.
The former governor of Anambra said what Nigeria need in 2025 is selfless and exemplary leadership.
On the local trips, Obi said Tinubu should spend roughly 72 days visiting each of Nigeria’s 36 states for two days each.
“Mr President, out of the approximately 580 days (as of December 29, 2024) you have been in office, it is reported that you have spent over 30%, or around 180 days, on more than 30 publicly recorded overseas trips. My appeal is that you dedicate at least 20% of 2025, roughly 72 days, to visit each of Nigeria’s 36 states for two days each.
“As President, such visits would give you the opportunity to better understand the dire economic and security situations across the country. Furthermore, it is time for you to visit our national hospitals. Consider, for example, that your next medical examination be conducted at one of our National Hospitals or Regional Federal Medical Centres, such as the FMC in Sokoto or Birnin Kebbi or Calabar or Umuahia or Akure, among others,” Obi said.
Obi said such trips would allow the President to assess the state of healthcare facilities available to Nigerians and would also help him understand the condition of the nation’s hospitals and clinics, enabling him to make informed decisions on how to upgrade and make them efficient.
“Endeavour to travel by road to observe the condition of most highways. You can take short trips, for example, from Calabar in Cross River State to Uyo in Akwa Ibom State, a distance of less than 100km, or from Benin in Edo State to Warri in Delta State,” he said.
Obi said he had taken former President Olusegun Obasanjo on a trip of the Awka to Onitsha federal highway which he said made Obasanjo immediately order the reconstruction of parts of the road by the Anambra State government, with subsequent reimbursement by the federal government.
He told Tinubu to undertake both impromptu and planned visits to the tertiary institutions, to see things for himself the available infrastructure, facilities, and amenities, adding that “As Commander-in-Chief, visit our military formations and security agencies, especially during their field operations, and provide them with morale-boosting assurances and support for operational efficiency. Reiterate that they and their families will always be taken care of.
“Mr. President, many Nigerians are ‘refugees’ and ‘exiles’ in their own country. Visit various IDP camps and assure these Nigerians that they will soon return to their communities and that you are working hard to restore peace and normalcy to the country. Nigeria is not a war-torn nation. The proliferation of IDP camps is a troubling sign.”
He told Tinubu to aggressively tackle corruption, adding that while addressing past corrupt matters, and ensure proper investigations and recoveries related to missing funds or their sources.
“The focus should be on eliminating current and future official malfeasance through increased transparency and accountability in public procurement and contract award processes, as well as thorough monitoring of execution to ensure that limited resources are efficiently utilized and applied productively.
“All future borrowing must be tied to regenerative investments and visible, productive assets that benefit the nation. This will ensure both productivity and the ability to service and amortize such loans, rather than continuing the current practice of accumulating massive debt with no tangible returns, which places undue strain on future development revenue,” he said.
Available records showed that Tinubu has visited at least 16 countries, including Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; London, the United Kingdom (four times); Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (twice); Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Novo, Benin Republic; The Hague, Netherlands; Pretoria, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; New Delhi, India; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; New York, the United States of America; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (twice); Berlin, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dakar, Senegal and Doha, Qatar.
