National Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has backed recent remarks by the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, that President Bola Tinubu has done his best on security, saying the President now needs to “go home and rest.”
Obi made the remarks during an interview with Chude Jideonwo uploaded on YouTube on Thursday while responding to a question on why Nigerians should support his presidential ambition instead of another opposition candidate.
Asked why he should be elected, Obi urged Nigerians to assess his record alongside his current plans for the country.
“It’s for you to look at my past and look at what I’m saying now,” he said.
Responding to Adeboye’s comments on Tinubu’s handling of insecurity, Obi said the respected cleric was right in saying the President had tried his best.
“Somebody asked me yesterday, they said that Pastor Adeboye said Tinubu has tried his best and he’s not happy.
“And I said, no, Pastor Adeboye remains a very revered, respected religious father, whom I believe in his genuineness and goodness.
“And what he said was correct. He said he has tried his best. He’s trying his best. That’s it. It’s the correct answer.
“The question to ask is: Is his best good enough? Where we find ourselves today, that leads to the issue of capacity.”
Obi argued that effective leadership requires competence, capacity, compassion, commitment and character, maintaining that Nigeria’s current security challenges reflected the need for a change in leadership.
“When I talk about leadership, I say competence, capacity, compassion, commitment, character. These are the issues. President Tinubu is tired. He needs to go home and rest,” Obi said.
Adeboye had earlier defended Tinubu against criticism over worsening insecurity, saying the President had fulfilled his responsibility by issuing directives to the military.
Speaking during the US-Nigeria Faith Heroes Award Gala organised by the Save Nigeria Group in Washington, D.C., on June 23, Adeboye said it was unfair to accuse the President of inaction because a commander-in-chief was not expected to personally participate in military operations.
“I don’t support those who are accusing the president of not doing enough. When the commander-in-chief has given instructions to his subordinates, he has done his bit. You don’t expect him to go and put on khaki and fight,” Adeboye had said.
Despite defending the President, the cleric expressed concern over the country’s worsening security situation, noting that terrorism and kidnapping had spread from northern Nigeria to the South.
He also disclosed that he advised Tinubu to issue a 90-day ultimatum to military commanders to end insecurity or resign, while urging the government to go after sponsors of terrorism, whom he said were known to the authorities.
