0
0
Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s deteriorating electricity supply, invoking the president’s own campaign pledge to highlight what he calls failed leadership.
In a statement posted on X, Obi wrote: “Tinubu in Jos Confirms ‘Don’t Vote for Me’ Prediction on Power Supply.” He recalled Tinubu’s 2023 campaign promise, saying: “During the 2023 campaign, President Tinubu made a clear electoral pledge: ‘If I don’t give you constant electricity in four years, don’t vote for me for a second term.’”
Obi noted that power generation has fallen since Tinubu assumed office, while tariffs have increased. “When he took office in 2023, Nigeria had a power supply of over 4,000 megawatts and lower tariffs. Today, the electricity supply averages less than 4,000 megawatts, and Nigerians are paying higher tariffs,” he said.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s low electricity consumption, arguing that the country lags behind its continental peers. “Nigeria currently has the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world, at 144 kWh—less than 30% of the African average of 617 kWh. This means Nigerians consume less electricity than any other Africans,” Obi said.
Referencing Tinubu’s recent visit to Jos, Obi pointed to the president’s remark about the lack of electricity at the airport as further evidence of the crisis. “During a brief stopover to visit grieving families of the Jos attack on Thursday, April 2, 2026, President Tinubu stated that one reason for his 10-minute stay was that the airport had no electricity. ‘You have no light here; I fly out in ten minutes.’ At a time when Nigerians endure days without power, our leaders cannot even stay a few minutes without it,” he wrote.
Obi said the moment underscored what he described as the government’s failure to meet public expectations and called on Nigerians to reject poor leadership. “Now is the time to stop incompetent leaders—those lacking capacity and compassion, who prioritise their own comfort over the well-being of the people and make empty promises,” he added.
