Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has urged Nigerians not to re-elect President Bola Tinubu in 2027, citing unmet promises on power supply. In a statement posted on his official X account on Saturday, Obi referenced Tinubu's 2023 campaign pledge: "If I don't give you constant electricity in four years, don't vote for me for a second term." At the time Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria's power generation was above 4,000 megawatts, with relatively lower tariffs, Obi noted. He pointed out that current electricity generation now averages below 4,000 megawatts, while tariffs have increased.
Obi highlighted that Nigeria's per capita electricity consumption stands at 144 kWh, below the African average of 617 kWh, making it the lowest on the continent. He cited President Tinubu's brief 10-minute stopover in Jos on April 2, 2026, where the president reportedly said, "You have no light here, I fly out in ten minutes," after visiting families affected by an attack. Obi described the moment as a display of leaders' discomfort with the same power outages citizens endure daily. He called on voters to reject leaders who make empty promises and prioritise personal comfort over public welfare.
Tinubu's 10-minute airport visit while decrying a lack of electricity exposes a leadership tone deaf to daily Nigerian realities. His 2023 promise of constant power was specific and measurable — generation has since dropped below 4,000 megawatts, and tariffs have risen. For Nigerians who have lived through prolonged blackouts, this isn't just broken rhetoric; it's a benchmark of underperformance set by the president himself. When a leader uses the absence of light as a reason to leave quickly, it signals a disconnect no campaign slogan can fix.
