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Idris Zekeri, spokesperson for the Peter Obi Media Office, has told Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu and other political leaders are employees of the people, urging citizens to demand accountability from elected officials.
Speaking on News Central’s “A Place At The Table” programme on Thursday, Zekeri said the failure to hold leaders accountable is at the heart of Africa’s governance challenges.
“Every man, woman, boy and girl seated here should realise that whoever is occupying position of leadership in this country was employed by you,” Zekeri said.
“Tinubu works for me. I have said this several times, and I’m unapologetic about it. He works for me; he works for you, and you must speak to him as an employee. He is not your employer. You employed him.”
“We have to fine-tune our leadership recruitment process…Tinubu works for me…he works for you….”@IdrisZekeriJnr says Africans must take ownership of solving the continent’s challenges, adding that Africa’s future depends largely on the quality of leaders citizens choose… pic.twitter.com/zLoxDK89pn
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) July 23, 2026
Zekeri dismissed the notion that citizens should wait for a messiah to solve Nigeria’s problems, arguing that the country’s future depends on the quality of its leadership recruitment process.
“I am here to promise you that the Messiah is not coming. The last Messiah died 2,500 years ago, resurrected after three days and he’s gone to heaven to be with his father. Another one is not coming,” he said.
“What that means is that we are going to have to fine-tune our leadership recruitment process. We are going to have to fine-tune our elections. We are going to have to fine-tune people participation in politics.”
He noted that in the last presidential election, only about 25 percent of registered voters actually turned out to vote.
“The problem of Africa is African. The solution to that problem is within Africa, and it rises and falls on the quality of leadership,” Zekeri said.
He also cautioned against leaders who exploit nationalism and tribalism to cling to power, arguing that poverty does not discriminate along ethnic lines.
“In Nigeria they will say, ‘Oh, in Nigeria it’s tribalism.’ They want to remove our person from power, and even when you are suffering, you think that person is your person. Poverty does not know ethnicity,” he said.
