Tinubu Running ‘Kabiyesi Government’, Peter Obi Would Do Better — Senator Abaribe

Abia South Senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of operating like a monarchy and insisting that former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would have governed Nigeria more effectively.

Abaribe made the remarks on Monday night while appearing on Politics Today, a flagship political programme on Channels Television.

The senator said the current administration had shut out dissenting voices, turning governance into what he described as a “Kabiyesi government” — a system where the president is treated as infallible.

“There are many Nigerians who are democrats who can run this country like Peter Obi, and he will be my candidate,” Abaribe said. “The issue is not about one individual but about how the entire government has become a Kabiyesi government, where the president can do no wrong and whatever he says must be accepted.”

He argued that effective governance thrives on debate and constructive criticism, warning that disagreement with government policies is increasingly being viewed as disloyalty.

“That’s not how to run a government,” he said. “You run a government by people challenging your views. Today, any view that challenges the government is seen as treason.”

Abaribe also criticised what he described as the growing involvement of President Tinubu’s family in state affairs, stressing that Nigeria operates a democratic system, not a monarchy.

Drawing a comparison with Peter Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State, the lawmaker said Obi kept his family out of public life and away from state resources.

“When you look at someone’s antecedents, how did he conduct himself? Throughout Peter Obi’s time as governor, did you hear about his children or his wife?” Abaribe asked. “This is a democracy, not a monarchy. You don’t put your family in the public space or allow them to use state resources.”

The senator also distanced himself from the popular pro-Tinubu chant, “on your mandate,” often sung at official functions.

“I have never sung it and I will never sing it,” he said. “When the budget is presented in the National Assembly, we stand for the national anthem. If the mandate song is played, I remain seated.”

Abaribe’s comments add to growing political debate over the style, structure and direction of President Tinubu’s government amid rising public scrutiny.