5thMEDIA

GOOD DAY, MR PRESIDENT: NIGERIANS DESERVE ACCOUNTABILITY Good day, Mr President. I congratulate you on spending a night in one of Nigeria’s states outside Lagos and Abuja. I hope you enjoyed the warmth, hospitality, and delicious cuisine of Akwa Ibom, which I am sure is even better than those of the destinations where you have spent over 260 days outside Nigeria since coming into office. I sincerely hope this visit will inspire you to travel to the remaining 33 states of the federation, spend time with the people and, more importantly, explain what your administration has done with the ₦15.8 trillion saved from the removal of fuel subsidy, the over $100 billion you have borrowed, the increased revenues accruing to the government from taxing Nigerians, and the additional government revenues which your administration celebrated last year as having surpassed its target. Nigerians deserve to know how many that were pulled out of poverty within this period, how many out-of-school children were returned to school, and how many functional primary healthcare centres you have built. They also deserve to know how much electricity supply has improved, especially given your promise that if you do not fix power, Nigerians should not vote for you. They deserve an explanation of how you have secured the country, which still ranks among the most terrorised countries in the world. Mr President, Nigerians deserve answers. They deserve to know what has been done with the resources entrusted to your government. The New Nigeria we want to build will be based on accountability, transparency, and the physical, measurable impact of our public resources on the lives of citizens. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO

Debunking the Phantom Debts and Ecological Loan Fallacy My attention has been drawn to trending claims by the Anambra State Government that my administration left behind inherited debts, including a ₦2 billion ecological loan, contractor liabilities, and unpaid salaries, gratuities, and pensions. This is completely false. We systematically liquidated historical gratuities and arrears dating back several years, amounting to over ₦35 billion. At the point of handover, the state owed nothing in salaries, gratuities, or pensions, nor did we owe anything to any contractor for projects duly executed and certified. The ₦2 billion ecological fund in question was released barely three months before the end of my tenure for the Oko/Umuchiana erosion crisis. Despite pressure to spend the money, I refused, insisting that it should be left for my successor because government is a continuum and the funds were tied to a specific project. The money was therefore left 100 per cent intact in First Bank, in Account No. 2018779464, with a balance of over ₦2.13 billion. It is important to stress that funds tied to specific projects or set aside for particular purposes were not even included in the over ₦75 billion in savings we left behind. If anybody can establish anything to the contrary, I will stop campaigning. -PO

PRESIDENT TINUBU GOES ON HOLIDAY AGAIN President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again left Nigeria for another holiday, this time beginning a three-week vacation in Europe. Nigeria is in deep crisis. Nigerians can barely afford food and transportation. Insecurity is ravaging communities, and thousands of children are unable to access education because of insecurity. Just days ago, about 600 Nigerians, predominantly women, children, and the elderly, were reportedly abducted during Juma’at prayers in Niger State. Yet, at this critical moment, the President has left the country for another holiday. According to reports, government expenditure on presidential trips and related travel expenses between June 2023 and April 2026 amounted to about ₦37.64 billion, with the President spending approximately 261 days outside Nigeria. Meanwhile, only ₦36 million was reportedly released to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025, despite a capital allocation of ₦218 billion, in a country of over 230 million people. This is the calamity befalling our country today. A government that can spend tens of billions on presidential travel while critical sectors remain starved of funds, and Nigerians are asked to endure worsening hardship, must not be allowed to continue. Leadership is about priorities. When citizens cannot feed their families, move safely, access healthcare, send their children to school, or sleep peacefully in their homes, the President should be more concerned about fixing the country than repeatedly leaving it. I look forward to a Nigeria where our President can vacation in Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Cross River State, Bauchi, Ebonyi, and many other destinations across our country. The President of Nigeria should be the chief marketer of Nigeria as a tourism destination, as other comparable countries do. Imagine the economic possibilities if our leaders, celebrities, business communities, and citizens travelled within Nigeria more frequently. Tourism creates jobs. It supports hospitality, transportation, agriculture, entertainment, crafts, and small businesses. It brings investment and foreign exchange and allows communities to benefit directly from their natural and cultural assets. We cannot continue to export our wealth and import our pleasures while our own enormous potential remains neglected. We deserve leadership that puts Nigeria first; leadership that cares and plans for a better Nigeria. That is the kind of leadership that the partnership between H.E. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and me will bring. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO