The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has dismissed claims by former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi that President Bola Tinubu is too tired to continue leading the country, insisting that the President remains physically fit and fully committed to his duties.
Yilwatda made the remarks on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he rejected Obi’s suggestion that Tinubu should step aside ahead of the 2027 general election.
Questioning the basis of Obi’s comments, the APC chairman argued that the demands of governance should not be measured by physical appearance.
“Is he going for boxing or the 100 metres?” Yilwatda asked.
He said Tinubu continues to maintain a rigorous work schedule, adding that he personally witnessed the President’s commitment during a recent meeting.
“President Tinubu is in the office every day. I was with him last Thursday. He was there in the morning and left late at night. That is someone who works from morning till night. People talk about the rigours of office, but the President is standing and carrying out his responsibilities,” he said.
Yilwatda was responding to Obi’s comments during an interview on the same programme, where the former Anambra State governor argued that Tinubu should retire after the expiration of his current tenure.
“The Bola Tinubu that was governor is not the one that is president today. He’s tired. He should be allowed to retire in peace and then go home,” Obi had said.
Obi maintained that Nigeria needed energetic leadership capable of addressing worsening insecurity, economic hardship, hunger and poverty, insisting that the 2027 election should focus on solving the country’s pressing challenges.
In response, Yilwatda said the Tinubu administration’s programmes had continued to attract public support, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as one of the government’s major achievements.
“You mean the millions of students receiving loans and celebrating them every day on social media, together with their parents who are hoping their children will access higher education through NELFUND, want the President to retire?” he asked.
The APC chairman also highlighted ongoing infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, port modernisation and gas pipeline expansion, as evidence that the administration remained focused on delivering its agenda.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, Yilwatda argued that many of the problems predated the Tinubu administration, adding that the government was making steady progress in addressing them.
(The Sun)
