• HURIWA faults inclusion of defence ministers in Tinubu campaign
• APC blames Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso for country’s woes

Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) has challenged President Bola Tinubu to leave proxy campaigns and face Nigerians directly as the country moves towards the 2027 presidential election.

Also, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has made his participation in presidential debates ahead of the 2027 general elections conditional on the attendance of President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the inclusion of the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in Tinubu’s campaign team.

This was as the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, accused Atiku and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, of grandstanding, saying they contributed to the country’s problems.

In a statement yesterday, POMR spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, said Nigerians deserve to hear directly from any candidate seeking their votes, rather than relying mainly on political surrogates.

The group said the 2027 election should be about the candidates’ records, policies, competence, and character.

POMR questioned whether a President seeking a second term could effectively ask Nigerians for another mandate while allowing ministers, party officials, governors and other political figures to do most of the public engagement on his behalf.

The group said Tinubu should personally explain his administration’s economic policies, the challenges facing Nigerian families and what has changed since he took office in 2023.

It also challenged the President to explain what he would do differently if Nigerians give him another four years.

“If President Tinubu believes his administration has performed well, let him come before Nigerians and say so himself,” POMR said, while drawing attention to Tinubu’s reported absence from the National Peace Accord convened by the National Peace Committee, led by former Head of State Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd).

The group deemed the President’s participation in major national platforms as important in this electioneering period.

It ended its statement with a direct challenge: “If President Tinubu wants another four years, let him come to the people.”

IN a statement issued by his official spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, yesterday, Atiku asserted that presidential debates should provide an opportunity for both the ruling party and opposition parties to present their policies and programmes to Nigerians.

He criticised the practice of organising debates that include only opposition candidates, describing it as “untenable” and accusing the APC-led administration of using such platforms to sow divisions among opposition parties while avoiding scrutiny.

The statement reads: “Political contests worldwide have always been between the ruling party and the opposition parties. Presidential debates worldwide have also been organised between the ruling party and the opposition.

“The situation in Nigeria today in which presidential debates are organised among the opposition parties only is therefore untenable. This has become a strategy that the failed, incompetent and corrupt APC government under Tinubu has been using to further instigate the opposition to attack each other while shielding itself from scrutiny by the Nigerian people.”

NATIONAL Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the ministers to withdraw from the campaign council and devote their full attention to their constitutional responsibilities of supervising Nigeria’s defence and counterterrorism operations.

HURIWA said the continued involvement of the two ministers in campaign activities amid rising attacks, killings and abductions across the country sent the wrong signal about the government’s priorities.

The group’s position followed renewed concerns over the reported abduction of worshippers during Friday prayers in Dekara village, Niger State.

It condemned the incident, particularly reports that women, children and elderly persons were among those abducted, describing the development as an unacceptable violation of their fundamental rights.

MORKA said Kwankwaso was part of the establishment responsible for the challenges Nigerians are facing.

In an interview on TVC’s ‘Beyond The Headlines’, Morka insisted that the former Kano State governor was not the new direction that Nigerians need.

“Kwankwaso, a new direction to where? I will offer an answer: a new direction to nowhere. This election is not about making empty buzzwords and speaking as though he just dropped from the sky. He has been and remains a part and parcel of the Nigerian establishment, so whatever is going on today, Kwankwaso was a frontline contributor to the challenges that we are facing today; he is by every standard.

“So when men like Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi and some of these opposition elements come out to grandstand, I don’t need to say much because I think that Nigerians understand what they are up to.”