Arise Television presenter Rufai Oseni has criticised the interview appearance of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying the former Anambra State governor failed to clearly explain how he would implement the policies he promised Nigerians if elected president in 2027.
Speaking on Monday during the Arise Television Morning Show, Oseni said presidential hopefuls must go beyond making broad promises and begin presenting detailed policy frameworks and practical strategies for solving Nigeria’s problems.
Referring to Obi’s interview on Channels Television on Sunday, he said, “And that’s what I did not see yesterday. I didn’t see the how. We can’t run a country on vibes.”
Oseni argued that with the 2027 election drawing closer, Nigerians should already have access to comprehensive manifestos and well-articulated plans from candidates seeking the country’s highest office.
“By now, if elections are in January, we are now in August, we have not seen manifesto. Six months to go. Secondly, we are not seeing proper articulation of how you will do it,” he said.
He added, “In fact, I think all candidates should stop telling us I will do this. They should start telling us how. We should see an idea. It’s the idea that we want to debate, the workability of the idea, and that I didn’t see. I didn’t see a lot of that.”
The broadcaster also questioned the repeated campaign promise of ending insecurity without explaining the strategy behind it. According to him, candidates should provide clear methodologies instead of withholding broad policy explanations under the excuse of protecting operational details.
“We will fix insecurity. How? And please, people should stop telling us ‘I don’t want to share my operational details’. Nobody say you should share your operational details, because as a candidate, you can’t have operational details. Operational details are specific to operations, hence the name operational details. Nobody say you should share that. What we are saying is overarching details, methodology, how you are going to do it. That’s just it,” he said.
Oseni further stated that he expected candidates to explain their technical plans for key sectors, particularly electricity, rather than making general promises.
“I mean, these are things as regards technicality and methodology. These are the things I want to hear from our candidates. Power sector, what would you do as regards them about creating thousands of megawatts? Major problem in the power sector today is transmission. We have 13,000 installed capacity, but why are we not seeing more than 5000 megawatts capacity for transmission? Are you going to put investment there? Are you going to raise the equity for the investment? I mean, those are paramount questions. So please, we want to see more of those details,” he said.
Oseni’s remarks came a day after Obi outlined his vision for Nigeria during a lengthy television interview, where he promised to personally lead the fight against insecurity, build a production-driven economy, reduce the cost of governance, strengthen anti-corruption efforts and serve only one four-year term if elected president.
“The problem is not simply removing subsidy. Government must explain to Nigerians what is being saved and where those savings are being invested. Economic reforms must translate into improved living conditions for ordinary citizens,” Obi was quoted to have said.