Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential flagbearer, has stated that he is not engaged in any personal feud with President Bola Tinubu, stressing that his advocacy remains centered on promoting effective governance and confronting Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges.
Obi made this known on Monday during a public event shortly after his return from Rome. His comments came in response to reactions sparked by a viral photograph that captured him alongside the president at a recent gathering.
“I and the president are not fighting. I’m not fighting anybody. My fight is against bad governance, against hunger, against poverty, against out-of-school children, against people not having health services,” Obi clarified.
He voiced concern over the nation’s weak health insurance coverage, noting that fewer than 10 percent of Nigerians are enrolled—a figure he believes should be much higher. “This country has less than 10 per cent health insurance. It should be 100 per cent,” he said.
On the topic of education, Obi underscored the government’s duty to shoulder the financial responsibility of teachers’ salaries under the Universal Basic Education framework.
“These teachers teaching here should be paid by government because it’s universal basic education. The law says here that our children should go to school free. So what my Lord is doing is helping government. Government should help him,” he said.
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Reflecting on his time as governor of Anambra State, Obi said his leadership was guided by the desire to serve the public interest. He maintained that his advocacy is driven by values, not political ambition.
“That’s what I did in Anambra State. I’m in coalition against hunger, in coalition against poverty, in coalition against good health. What it is for me is not about position. It’s about doing the right thing,” he stated.
Responding to a question about whether his recent encounter with President Tinubu was political, Obi dismissed the speculation.
“Whatever you make of it, I can tell you, I, Peter, have told you where I stand. I just came back this morning. I didn’t go talk about politics. I’m talking about the education of these children,” he said.
He ended by criticising the country’s fixation on political narratives at the expense of more critical conversations about national development.
“In this country, we talk about politics and abandon what we should be talking about. What we should be talking about is how we’re going to educate these children,” he concluded.
