By BONIFACE AKARAH

Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to engage Nigerians directly as he seeks a second term in office, warning against what it described as “proxy campaigns” ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

A statement issued on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, and signed by Idris Zekeri Jnr, Spokesman of Peter Obi Media Office (POMR), said that Tinubu should not rely on ministers, party officials, media aides, governors and other political surrogates to engage Nigerians on his behalf.

POMR alleged that the President was positioning himself for re-election without directly meeting the electorate, describing such an approach as inconsistent with democratic accountability.

“President Tinubu can deploy surrogates to speak for him, sign documents on his behalf, or represent him at some public events, but he cannot send a surrogate to meet the Nigerian people on his behalf,” the statement said.

The group also criticised the President’s absence from the National Peace Accord convened by the National Peace Committee under the leadership of former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

According to POMR, the absence was disrespectful to the efforts of the committee, including Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah and other stakeholders involved in promoting peaceful elections.

“The Nigerian people need to see the candidate. They need to hear the candidate. They need to question the candidate. The same applies to every major national platform, including the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference and other forums where candidates are expected to engage Nigerians on the state of the nation,” it said.

The media office said Nigerians seeking to assess the President’s performance and determine whether to support a second term should hear directly from him on issues affecting the country.

“If the President believes his administration has performed well, let him come before Nigerians and say so himself. Let him explain the economy. Let him explain the hardship confronting families. Let him explain his policies. Let the candidate explain what has changed since 2023. Let him tell Nigerians what he intends to do differently in a second term,” POMR said.

It further challenged the President and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to abandon what it described as surrogate-driven campaigning and engage citizens directly.

“This is not disrespect. It is democracy. We, therefore, challenge the President and the APC to stop campaigning through surrogates and start engaging the Nigerian people directly,” the statement added.

POMR said the 2027 presidential election should focus on the candidates’ competence, records, ideas and character rather than the ability of political parties to deploy large numbers of surrogates.

“No more proxy campaigns. No more presidential hide-and-seek. If President Tinubu wants a second term, let him come to the people. Let him see and hear the people. And let Nigerians question him and decide — not on the voices of his surrogates, but on the record and vision of the man asking for their votes,” the statement said.

The media office concluded that Nigerians should elect a president based on direct engagement, accountability, records and vision, describing the ideal leader as “a servant of the people, not a demigod.”