‘Don’t vote for me’ – Obi uses Tinubu’s campaign promise against him as power crisis in Nigeria worsens

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s worsening electricity crisis, invoking the president’s own campaign promise and arguing that the current state of power supply reflects failed leadership.

In a statement posted on X, Obi wrote: “Tinubu in Jos Confirms ‘Don’t Vote for Me’ Prediction on Power Supply.” He recalled Tinubu’s 2023 campaign pledge, saying: “During the 2023 campaign, President Tinubu made a clear electoral promise: ‘If I don’t give you constant electricity in four years, don’t vote for me for a second term.’”

Obi said the electricity situation has worsened since Tinubu assumed office, noting that power generation has fallen below the level recorded at the start of the administration, while tariffs have risen. “When he took office in 2023, Nigeria had a power supply of over 4,000 megawatts and lower tariffs. Today, the electricity power supply is less than 4,000 megawatts on the average, and Nigerians are paying higher tariffs,” he said.

He also highlighted Nigeria’s low electricity consumption, arguing that the country lags behind the rest of the continent. “Nigeria currently has the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world, with a rate below 30% of the African average. Africa’s average is 617kwh, Nigeria’s is 144 kWh. This means that Nigerians consume least electricity than other Africans,” Obi said.

Referencing Tinubu’s recent visit to Jos, Obi pointed to the president’s comment about the lack of electricity at the airport as further evidence of the scale of the problem.

“In a glaring display of disregard for promises and a lack of trust, President Tinubu, during a brief airport stopover to visit grieving families of the Jos attack on Thursday, April 2, 2026, stated that one of the reasons for his 10-minute stay was that the airport had no electricity. ‘You have no light here I fly out in ten minutes’ At a time when Nigerians are enduring days without power, our leaders cannot even stay a few minutes without it,” he wrote.

Obi said the moment underlined what he described as the government’s failure to meet public expectations, and called on Nigerians to reject poor leadership. “Now is the time to stop incompetent leaders, those lacking the capacity and compassion, who prioritise their own comfort over the well-being of the people and make empty promises,” he said.