Peter Obi Announces What He Won’t Do During His Holiday as Nigerian President
- NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi spoke in an exclusive Arise News interview on Thursday, September 10, 2026, about his 2027 campaign priorities
- Obi outlined plans for an independent vote transmission system to run alongside INEC's official portal at every polling unit across Nigeria
- The candidate also challenged the government's use of surveillance technology, questioning why it targets political opponents rather than kidnappers
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Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, said on Thursday, September 10, that he would not spend his holidays abroad if elected president, pledging instead to remain in Nigeria and promote domestic tourism.
Speaking in a live interview on Arise News, Obi laid out campaign priorities covering electoral integrity, insecurity, and the conduct of leadership.
Source: Twitter
On holidays, he pointed to states such as Kano, Katsina, Cross River, Bauchi, and Plateau as destinations that a sitting president should be visiting, arguing that such trips would grow Nigeria's tourism industry and support jobs in hospitality and transport.
Obi's plan to protect every vote
Electoral fraud was a central theme of the interview. Obi said his campaign would set up an independent system to capture results directly from polling units into its situation room, running in parallel with transmissions to the official INEC portal.
"We must make sure that every polling unit, the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly. And we will have even a dual transmission, so that as it's going to the proper designated INEC portal, it's also being transmitted where the people can see it," he said.
He added that the measure was designed to close the gap between what is recorded at grassroots level and what eventually gets announced.
"We're not going to have a situation where somebody just pronounces something that didn't emanate from the polling unit," Obi said.
Redirecting security resources toward criminals
Obi also turned his attention to the persistent wave of kidnappings across Nigeria, questioning whether existing government surveillance technology was being used effectively.
"Today, the government knows where I am. All those equipments they're using to focus on opponents. Should we focus on criminals?" he said. He made clear that his administration would redirect those resources away from monitoring political figures. "I'm not going to follow any opponents. I don't care where they are. I don't care what they do. It's not my business. I'm going to focus it where it is."
He described the daily occurrence of abductions as evidence that something had gone seriously wrong in the security architecture.
"It's happening to everybody. It's happening every day. So, there's something wrong," he said.
Obi also used the interview to walk back comments made during a visit to Port Harcourt, where he had said he was "ready to die" for his vote. He described the remark as symbolic, explaining that it came in response to supporters who expressed that same willingness and that he was simply encouraging them.
Obi joined the NDC on May 29, 2026, after resigning from the African Democratic Congress earlier that month. He is running alongside running mate Rabiu Kwankwaso on a platform centred on credible elections, security reform, and reduced cost of governance.
Obi speaks on 1966 coups
Previously, Legit.ng reported Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general elections, offered his explanation for the causes of the 1966 military coups and the subsequent Nigerian Civil War, saying both were direct consequences of leadership failure.
Obi shared his views in a tweet on Thursday, September 10, in response to what he described as reactions from Nigerians who were upset that an Arise News anchor had asked him questions about the 1966 coups during an interview. He said he welcomed such questions and was prepared to answer anything concerning Nigeria's history.
Source: Legit.ng
