Obi faults Tinubu’s Saint Lucia trip, says he should focus on tackling poverty

Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saint Lucia.

President Bola Tinubu will leave Abuja on Sunday for Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean.

A statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said Tinubu’s visit is “part of efforts to deepen Nigeria’s engagement with Caribbean nations”.

He said the president will address a special joint session of the senate and house of assembly of Saint Lucia at the William Jefferson Clinton ballroom, Sandals Grande, Gros Islet.

But Obi questioned the president’s decision to embark on a personal vacation shortly after a devastating flood in Minna, Niger state, which claimed over 200 lives and left hundreds missing.

Obi contrasted the president’s planned trip with his limited visits to affected areas, recalling Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi, Benue state, which he described as more of a “political event” than a genuine condolence visit.

He also criticised the government’s focus on political manoeuvring and catering to elites while neglecting the needs of the masses.

“The time has come to put a stop to this drift before it consumes all and focus on pulling people out of poverty,” Obi said, urging the government to prioritise the welfare of all Nigerians over personal and political interests.

“This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed. One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number.

“I would like to let our leaders know one thing: that the God given resources of this country belong to all, not to a few.”