Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
The Peter Obi Media Office (POMR) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to personally engage Nigerians ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The group warned against what it described as an attempt by the president to seek re-election through political surrogates.
POMR, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, on Tuesday, alleged that Tinubu was positioning himself to secure another term in office without sufficiently meeting the electorate.
The organisation insisted that presidential candidates must have the courage to stand before Nigerians, answer their questions and defend their records, policies and vision for the country.
It said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is positioning himself to be re-elected for a second term without meeting the electorate.
“Indications are evident that the president plans to hide in Aso Rock and expect hired surrogates to meet the people on his behalf. This is not democracy and must be rejected by the people.”
According to POMR, while the president could deploy surrogates to represent him at certain events, speak for him or sign documents on his behalf, he could not delegate the responsibility of personally engaging Nigerians whose votes he would be seeking.
The statement read: “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 POMR also criticised 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 from the event as disrespectful to the efforts of Abubakar, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and other stakeholders working to promote peaceful elections.
“The Nigerian people need to see the candidate. They need to hear the candidate. They need to question the candidate,” POMR said.
The group extended its demand to major national platforms, including the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference, where presidential candidates are expected to engage citizens and address critical national issues.
It said a president seeking another four-year mandate could not “permanently hide behind ministers, party officials, media aides, governors, or other political surrogates”.
According to the organisation, “The office belongs to the people; the mandate belongs to the people; and the accountability must be directly to the people.”
POMR challenged Tinubu to personally explain the performance of his administration since assuming office in 2023 if he believed it had delivered sufficiently to deserve another term.
The office said: “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.
“Let the candidate explain what has changed since 2023. Let him tell Nigerians what he intends to do differently in a second term.
“And let him hear directly from the citizens whose votes he seeks.”
POMR maintained that its 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 organisation declared, challenging Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to abandon what it called proxy campaigning and engage Nigerians directly.
It warned that the 2027 election should not become a contest in which political surrogates speak more frequently than the presidential candidates themselves.
“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,” POMR said.
The organisation declared with a direct appeal to Tinubu: “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.
“Let Nigerians question him and decide, not on the voices of his surrogates, but on the record and vision of the man asking for their votes.
“This is the spirit of democracy. We are electing a servant of the people, not a demigod.”