Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Peter Obi Media Office has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of the 2027 presidential election, challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally engage Nigerians and defend his first-term record rather than relying on what it described as a growing culture of "proxy campaigning" through ministers, governors, and political aides. In a statement signed on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the Peter Obi Media Reach expressed deep concern over what it termed "disturbing trends" indicating that President Tinubu was positioning himself to seek re-election without adequately meeting the electorate.
The media office insisted that the 2027 election must not become a contest of surrogates but a direct engagement between presidential candidates and the Nigerian people. "The Nigerian people need to see the candidate. They need to hear the candidate. They need to question the candidate," the statement declared. POMR argued that while political surrogates could represent the President at official functions, they could not substitute for the direct interaction required of a candidate seeking the highest office in the land. "The 2027 election is not a ceremony to be performed by representatives. It is a contest for the leadership of more than 200 million Nigerians, and those seeking the mandate must have the courage to stand before the people, answer their questions, and defend their records," the statement added.
At the heart of the challenge is a demand for accountability on the economy and the hardship facing Nigerian families. The Obi media office called on President Tinubu to personally explain his administration's performance since assuming office in 2023, including the state of the economy, the impact of his policies, and what he would do differently if elected for a second term. "If the President believes his administration has performed well, let him come before Nigerians and say so himself. Let him explain the economy. Let him explain the hardship confronting families. Let him explain his policies," the statement read.
The media office also criticised President Tinubu's absence from the National Peace Accord convened by the National Peace Committee under the leadership of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar. It described the President's absence as disrespectful to the painstaking work of Abubakar, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and other stakeholders working to promote peaceful elections. POMR extended its demand to major national platforms, including the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association conference, where presidential candidates are expected to engage citizens and address critical national issues.
The group warned that a President seeking another four-year mandate could not permanently hide behind ministers, party officials, media aides, or governors. "The office belongs to the people; the mandate belongs to the people; and the accountability must be directly to the people," the statement declared. It stressed that the demand was not intended as an attack on the presidency but as an insistence on democratic accountability. "This is not disrespect. It is democracy," the group declared.
POMR concluded by challenging President Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress to abandon proxy campaigns and engage Nigerians directly, insisting that the 2027 election must be a contest of candidates, competence, records, ideas, and character—not a contest of who can deploy the loudest army of surrogates. "No more proxy campaigns. No more presidential hide-and-seek. If President Tinubu wants a second term, let him come to the people. Let him see and hear the people. And let Nigerians question him and decide—not on the voices of his surrogates, but on the record of his leadership," the statement declared.
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