The war of words between the ruling All Progressives Congress and the camp of the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, intensified on Monday as the former Anambra State governor’s supporters challenged President Bola Tinubu to a live televised debate ahead of the 2027 general election.
The challenge followed the APC’s dismissal of Obi’s recent criticism of the Tinubu administration, with the ruling party insisting that Nigeria’s economic reforms require continuity rather than a change in direction.
Obi had, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, declared that President Tinubu was “too tired” to continue leading Nigeria, urging him to step aside because he allegedly lacked the capacity to tackle the country’s worsening economic and security crises.
The former presidential candidate also argued that Nigerians, not the 36 state governors backing the President, would determine the outcome of the 2027 presidential election, while maintaining that the country was headed in the wrong direction under the current administration.
His call for Tinubu to resign from office had incurred the wrath of the President’s supporters and members of the ruling APC.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party has since come under heavy criticism, especially on social media.
Reacting in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Obi’s campaign spokesman and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, said rather than deploying surrogates to attack Obi, Tinubu should agree to a live television debate to defend his administration’s record.
“I dare them (Obi’s critics) to refute what Obi has said. Let them speak to the issues he raised and tell us if they are not fundamental. Obviously, they can’t.
“Nigerians are killed daily, and there is hunger in the land.
“The education sector is seriously lagging. It is being thrown below the standard level. Is it not true that we have a fake agency financed by this government?
“So, you see, these are irrefutable facts that they are finding difficult to deal with.
“It will be interesting if Tinubu can agree to debate with Mr Peter Obi on a live television programme.
“Let him challenge him one-on-one. We are not talking about all those his surrogates jumping up and down here.
“Let him speak to issues, especially what he has done. Let him address the salient points Obi raised in his interview, assuming he can do it.
“He is not a man who can endure one hour of a gruelling debate, let alone the two hours Obi spent on set. We are waiting. Let them come,” he said.
Asked whether he also agreed with Obi’s position that Tinubu should step aside over what the former governor described as failure in office, Tanko insisted that the administration had failed to address the country’s pressing challenges.
He said, “Isn’t it obvious to everyone? So, it is Obi’s word against his. If this is another country, and the presidency commits just one out of all these shenanigans that are happening in this government, the nation will burn.
“I just don’t want to salute the patience of Nigerians. They are meticulously patient. See the trillions of naira budgeted for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. When you put this into our educational sector, a huge number of children would have benefited from it. But here we are, wasting such resources on phantom projects.”
The APC, however, dismissed the challenge and Obi’s criticisms as politically insignificant.
When contacted by The PUNCH for reaction, the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said the former LP presidential candidate did not deserve a response.
“No serious-minded person should dignify Obi’s ranting with a reply,” Basiru said.
When asked whether the ruling party was concerned about Obi’s perceived electoral threat ahead of the 2027 polls, he responded tersely, “(There is) no polling unit online.”
Earlier on Monday, the APC also defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, insisting that Nigeria needed policy continuity instead of a fresh economic direction.
The APC National Vice Chairman (South-East), Dr Ijeomah Arodiogbu, faulted Obi’s call for Tinubu to step aside, arguing that the administration had already laid the foundation for long-term economic recovery through reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange adjustments and fiscal restructuring.
According to Arodiogbu, the difficult reforms were beginning to yield results and should be consolidated rather than abandoned.
He said, “The priority for Nigeria should be the consolidation of ongoing economic gains, not the laying of a new foundation.”
He also accused Obi of consistently highlighting Nigeria’s challenges without offering practical alternatives capable of addressing prevailing economic realities.
The latest exchange underscores the growing political tension ahead of the 2027 general election, as opposition figures intensify criticism of the Tinubu administration while the ruling APC continues to defend its record.
Obi, who has remained one of the leading opposition voices since the 2023 presidential election, has repeatedly argued that the current administration lacks the vision and capacity to reverse Nigeria’s economic decline and worsening insecurity.
He also maintains that he won the disputed 2023 presidential election but was denied victory after the results were manipulated, while calling on the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission to guarantee a free, fair and credible election in 2027.
The APC, however, insists that the Tinubu administration’s reforms are beginning to stabilise the economy and that continuity, rather than a policy reversal, offers the best path to sustained growth as political alignments ahead of the next general election gather momentum.
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