Lagos APC Slams Obi Over Comment on Remi Tinubu’s Birthday Donations

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday faulted Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, over his remarks on First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s birthday appeal for donations towards the completion of the National Library in Abuja.

The party accused the former Anambra State governor of “politicising philanthropy” and speaking with double standards on issues of national development.

Mrs. Tinubu had urged well-wishers to contribute to the abandoned project in lieu of cakes, adverts or other birthday gestures. But Obi, while acknowledging the noble intention, lamented that such a call only underscored government’s failure to prioritise critical infrastructure.

According to him, it was shameful that a country spending billions on luxury items such as jets and mansions still had to depend on charity to complete its “temple of knowledge.”

Reacting in a statement, Lagos APC spokesman Seye Oladejo said Obi’s response was “petty and politically motivated.”

“It is unfortunate, though not surprising, that Mr. Obi continues to reduce every matter of national interest to cheap political commentary. Across the world, public institutions benefit from private support, endowments and philanthropy. Such gestures complement government’s efforts and reflect shared responsibility for nation-building,” Oladejo said.

The party further argued that Obi lacked the moral grounds to criticise such initiatives, recalling that schools and hospitals in Anambra under his watch relied heavily on private and church-based interventions.

“Obi should be the last to complain. If such support was acceptable in his state, why suddenly demonise it at the national level? Nigerians can see through this double standard,” Oladejo added.

The APC defended the First Lady’s appeal, saying voluntary contributions to national causes remain commendable in the face of competing development needs.

But Obi, in his statement titled “We Are Finished”, insisted that no serious nation should rely on birthday donations for a national library.

“What kind of leaders waste trillions on luxury and vanity while the National Library our intellectual furnace remains abandoned? Until we prioritise education and knowledge, the lament remains true we are finished,” he said.