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• Begins consultations, seeks Nigerians’ verdict on Tinubu govt
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja and Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has asked Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race over the controversy surrounding the debt profile he left behind as governor of Anambra State.
The council, which has also begun consultations ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, said it was taking its engagements across the country to hear directly from Nigerians about their assessment of the administration, needs and expectations.
In a statement by its spokesman and Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dele Alake, the PCC hinged its demand for Obi’s withdrawal on his earlier pledge to quit the presidential contest if it was established that his administration left liabilities in Anambra.
The council cited figures released by the Anambra State Government indicating that eight external loan facilities contracted during Obi’s tenure had an original value of $123.77 million, arguing that the disclosure contradicted claims associated with the former governor that he left the state without a debt burden.
“In the past four years, Mr Peter Obi and his supporters packaged his tenure as Anambra governor as one defined by exceptional fiscal prudence, including the claim that he left Anambra without a debt burden,” the council said.
According to the APC PCC, the latest figures had raised questions about Obi’s account of his stewardship.
“Borrowing is not injudicious if used for development. But for a man who prides himself on being austere and has frequently claimed he left the state with a clean bill of health, the revelations confirmed what has long been held,” it said.
The council further alleged that Obi had little to show for the borrowings and accused his administration of leaving salary arrears in some government establishments, including the state Water Corporation.
It also cited an April 25, 2006 letter by Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, which it said recorded a campaign pledge by Obi to resign as governor if workers were not paid as and when due.
The PCC claimed that some arrears remained when Obi left office in 2014 and challenged him to honour his undertaking by withdrawing from the presidential race.
“Indeed, if Peter Obi has any honour, he must resign from the 2027 presidential race forthwith, in keeping with his promise to end his run if it is proven that his administration left behind liabilities in Anambra,” the PCC said.
The Anambra State Government had said the eight external loan facilities contracted during Obi’s eight years as governor had a combined original value of $123.77 million, with $92.35 million still outstanding as of June 30, 2026.
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Obi has disputed the government’s portrayal of his record, maintaining that he left office without outstanding salaries, pensions, gratuities or debts to contractors for properly executed and certified projects.
Meanwhile, the APC PCC has begun consultations ahead of the 2027 election, saying it wants to hear directly from Nigerians about their assessment of the Tinubu administration.
Director-General of the PCC, Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this in Kano after the council met the leader of the Qadiriyya Sect in Africa, Sheikh Qaribullah Nasiru Kabara.
Yari said the council had adopted town hall meetings as part of its initial strategy to obtain direct feedback from Nigerians on the administration and their expectations ahead of the election.
He said the PCC had already taken its consultations to Bauchi, Jos, Kaduna and Kano and had engaged leaders of the Izala, Tijjaniyya and Qadiriyya movements.
“We are in Kano to seek the blessings and spiritual guidance of the Sheikhs. We were in Bauchi, Jos, Kaduna and now Kano. We met with Izala, Tijjaniyya and now we are meeting with the Qadiriyya sect, because we believe that seeking Allah’s guidance in everything is the first thing one requires.”
Yari said town hall meetings would provide the council with insight into the feelings and needs of Nigerians and enable it to respond to issues raised during the engagements.
Speaking on Tinubu’s re-election campaign, Yari said the administration inherited an economy facing severe pressures, including rising prices and exchange-rate instability, but claimed the situation had begun to stabilise.
“However, with the determined efforts of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, market prices have stabilised, while the dollar is no longer rising crazily,” he said.
Yari said Nigerians would soon begin to feel what he described as the benefits of the government’s economic programme.
He also said the Tinubu administration had continued major projects inherited from the Muhammadu Buhari government, citing the Kano-Maradi railway, Kano-Kaduna-Abuja rail and road projects and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline.
“Take the Kano-Maradi rail line project, the Kano-Kaduna to Abuja rail line project, as well as the Kano-Kaduna-Abuja road project and the AKK Gas Pipeline project. The good thing is that all these projects are expected to be completed before next year,” he said.
Kano State Deputy Governor, Murtala Sule Garo, assured the PCC of the state’s support for Tinubu’s re-election bid, while Kabara also pledged the support of the Qadiriyya group.
