Fred Agbedi, minority leader of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday night, June 17, blasted President Bola Tinubu for not visiting Oyo state after the mid‑May school kidnappings. Agbedi condemned the continued captivity of schoolchildren and teachers and accused the federal government of failing to act against mass kidnappings.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ the opposition lawmaker even demanded the president’s resignation. He said on behalf of opposition reps that the country faces “an unprecedented crisis marked by killings, kidnappings, economic hardship and what he described as attempts to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.”
Agbedi said: “The duty and beauty of democracy is that if you are not able to give leadership to your nation, if your government fails, then both those in the minority, those who are free citizens of the nation, have a right to say, you either perform or you quit.”
He recalled an earlier floor speech and warned again: “In the eighth assembly in which I was a member, right on the floor of the House of Representatives, I rose, and in my contribution to a particular motion, I did say that President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has failed. I went further to say that a Nigerian’s life is equal to ‘one minute silence’. That the life of a Nigerian equals one minute silence. So where are we? What did we say today? You either give leadership or you quit. That is the truth of the matter.”
Agbedi added: “Are you ready to lead your people? Let me tell you: how many children are in captivity in Oyo state? The president was in Lagos. Did he go to Ibadan?”
