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  • Peter Obi should find better vocation

    Peter Obi should find better vocation

    By Bayo Onanuga

    Labour Party’s Presidential candidate in the election, Mr. Peter Obi, addressed a press conference, just like Atiku Abubakar, where he cast aspersions on the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission for not declaring him the winner of the February 25, 2023 election. 

    We are at a loss as to how the copy-cat Obi and his faction of Labour Party convinced themselves they won an election in which they came a distant third. 

    The grand delusion that made Mr. Obi believe he could have won a national election where he ran the most hateful, divisive and polarising campaign that pitted Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria should be a matter for deeper examination.

    At the press conference where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos, Mr. Obi contradicted himself.  Here was a beneficiary of judicial pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgment did not go his way.

    Mr. Obi claimed the Supreme Court justices didn’t consider public opinion in delivering what has been applauded as a most profound judgement in an election appeal where the Labour Party candidate presented the most watery and unreasonable petition before any court in the history of electoral cases in Nigeria. 

    He made false allegations of rigging and other electoral malpractices and yet could not produce any evidence to back up his claims at both the court of first instance and at the apex court. In a failed effort to mobilise and retain the support of his supporters, Obi gave them a forlorn hope that he won the election and would prove it before the courts. Throughout the trial, his lawyers didn’t present any alternative results different from the results INEC uploaded on the IReV portal and the ones signed by all party agents from the 176,000 polling units. 

    We wonder how the Labour Party candidate expected  the courts to do justice on the basis of rumours, lies and false narratives by sponsored partisans and fanatical members of his Obidient Movement.

    We expected the Labour Party candidate to know that the Supreme Court, or any other court, does not give judgment based on public opinion and mob sentiments. Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence, precedents and the rule of law. 

    Having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the bona-fide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and pledge his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.

    Read Also: Presidency lambasts Obi for aspersions on Judiciary, INEC

    But instead, he brought up extraneous matters that he thought the apex court should have considered to declare him the winner. In our view, the drowning Obi, just like Atiku, was merely attempting to hold on to a straw in raking up new allegations, which exist only in his imagination and that of his hordes of supporters. 

    Our admonition to Mr. Peter Obi is to find another worthwhile vocation to engage his time henceforth, having been rejected by majority of Nigerians who didn’t consider him qualified to lead our country. 

    Nigerians rejected Peter Obi and his demagoguery at the poll because he posed  present and future danger to the peace, progress and stability of our country. 

    Obi’s antecedents as governor of Anambra for eight years didn’t inspire any confidence as someone capable of running a country like Nigeria. No tangible records of achievement in the state he governed recommended him for the presidency of Nigeria. 

    If Mr. Peter Obi truly believes in Nigeria, the time to prove it is now, when all men and women of goodwill are rallying support for President Tinubu in his determination to lead a new era of prosperity, inclusive governance and economic growth in Nigeria. 

    Finally, we welcome Obi and his party to play the role of the opposition and start preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027. 

    We hope by then, he would campaign on issues and not whip up religious and ethnic sentiments as he did in the last campaign.

  • Learn to lick your wounds, APC counsels Obi

    Learn to lick your wounds, APC counsels Obi

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has advised the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi to go and lick the wounds of his defeats and stop blaming the judiciary for his electoral failure.

    The governing party berated the former Anambra Governor for exhibiting a sense of self-entitlement by overrating himself and accusing the democratic institution of his abysmal performance at the poll.

    Reacting to what it called a belated and grouchy reaction to the judgment of the Supreme Court dismissing his appeal against the electoral victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka told the LP flag bearer that court cases are not won on public opinion but on evidence and law.

    According to Morka in a statement last night, the APC faulted Obi’s position that  “the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.”

    Read Also: NAFDAC to benefit from Global Funds $.9b grant to Nigeria

    The statement reads: “At his Press Conference earlier today, November 6, 2023, Obi, again blamed our democratic institutions, particularly the courts for not awarding him victory – not because he won the election, not because he proved his case in court as required by law but because he is Peter Obi. That haughty sense of entitlement seems to pervade his vitriolic attack on our institutions.

    “Mr Obi’s gross inability to distinguish between his warped version of public opinion and reality has been his greatest undoing throughout the electioneering season. Taken by the mass hysteria of his vociferous netizens and fringe supporters, Mr Obi ensconced himself in an alternate reality, a parallel political universe of self-delusion.”

    APC further argued that as “someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters”, Obi’s acerbic attack on the judiciary only belies his arrogance and vainness.

    “When the same courts previously decided to favour his favour, the courts were beacons of democracy. Now that the decisions are against him, all of a sudden, the courts have betrayed democracy.  Mr Obi, it cannot always be about you. It must always be about our country. Cases are not won on public opinion, they are won on evidence and the law. You failed on both counts.”

    Welcoming Obi’s decision to engage in opposition politics going forward, the ruling party urged him and the party to be mature and constructive in their contribution.

    “We welcome Mr Obi’s decision to engage in opposition politics going forward. We urge Obi and his Labour Party to do so maturely and constructively, and contribute to the important task of building a safer, stronger and more prosperous country for us all.”

  • Presidency lambasts Obi for aspersions on Judiciary, INEC

    Presidency lambasts Obi for aspersions on Judiciary, INEC

    The Presidency has lambasted the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last presidential election Peter Obi for casting aspersions on the Judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over his failure at the polls and in the courts.

    Obi, on Monday, addressed a press conference in Abuja titled :”From courtrooms to National Conscience: Our democracy is the victim” during which he expressed his views on the recent judgement of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election, accusing the apex court of an aversion to public opinion and abandoning its responsibility as a court of law and policy.

    However, in a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency lampooned Obi, saying he suffered a grand delusion for assuming he could be declared a winner in an election where he came a distant third and where he allegedly ran the most divisive and polarising campaigns.

    According to the statement, though Obi attempted disparaging the judiciary at his press conference by claiming that the Supreme Court did not consider feelings in public, he contradict himself as he already acknowledged that he had been a beneficiary of the judicial system in the past.

    It wondered how he had hoped the judgement would go when he failed to prove how he won the election, even as his arguments failed to prove his case in court, having provided what has been described as the “most watery and unreasonable” petition in the history of electoral cases in the country.

    “Labour Party Presidential candidate in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi, addressed a press conference, just like Atiku Abubakar, where he cast aspersions on the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission for not declaring him the winner of the February 25, 2023 election.

    “We are at a loss as to how the copy-cat Obi and his faction of Labour Party convinced themselves they won an election in which they came a distant third.

    “The grand delusion that made Mr. Obi believe he could have won a national election where he ran the most hateful, divisive and polarising campaign that pitched Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria should be a matter for deeper examination.

    “At the press conference where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos, Mr. Obi contradicted himself. Here was a beneficiary of judicial pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgment did not go his way.

    “Mr. Obi claimed the Supreme Court justices didn’t consider public opinion in delivering what has been applauded as a most profound judgement in an election appeal where the Labour Party candidate presented the most watery and unreasonable petition before any court in the history of electoral cases in Nigeria.

    “He made false allegations of rigging and other electoral malpractices, yet could not produce any evidence to back up his claims at both the court of first instance and at the apex court. In a failed effort to mobilise and retain the support of his supporters, Obi gave them a forlorn hope that he won the election and would prove it before the courts. Throughout the trial, his lawyers didn’t present any alternative results different from the results INEC uploaded on the IReV portal and the ones signed by all party agents from the 176,000 polling units.

    Read Also: NAFDAC to benefit from Global Funds $.9b grant to Nigeria

    “We wonder how the Labour Party candidate expected the courts to do justice on the basis of rumours, lies and false narratives by sponsored partisans and fanatical members of his Obidient Movement.

    “We expected the Labour Party candidate to know that the Supreme Court or any other court does not give judgment based on public opinion and mob sentiments. Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence, precedents and the rule of law,” it said.

    The Presidency admonished Obi to quit the fight and find other fruitful engagements to devote his time to, even as he was advised to prove his love to the country by joining other people of goodwill to support the Tinubu administration in the task of setting the nation on the path of progress and prosperity.

    “Having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the bona-fide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and pledge his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.

    “But instead, he brought up extraneous matters that he thought the apex court should have considered to declare him the winner. In our view, the drowning Obi, just like Atiku, was merely attempting to hold on to a straw in raking up new allegations, which exist only in his imagination and that of his hordes of supporters.

    “Our admonition to Mr. Peter Obi is to find another worthwhile vocation to engage his time henceforth, having been rejected by majority of Nigerians who didn’t consider him qualified to lead our country.

    “Nigerians rejected Peter Obi and his demagoguery at the poll because he posed present and future danger to the peace, progress and stability of our country.

    “Obi’s antecedents as Governor of Anambra for eight years didn’t inspire any confidence as someone capable of running a country like Nigeria. No tangible records of achievement in the state he governed recommended him for the Presidency of Nigeria.

    “If Mr. Peter Obi truly believes in Nigeria, the time to prove it is now when all men and women of goodwill are rallying support for President Tinubu in his determination to lead a new era of prosperity, inclusive governance and economic growth in Nigeria.

    “Finally, we welcome Obi and his party to play the role of the opposition and start preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027.

    We hope by then he would campaign on issues and not whip up religious and ethnic sentiments as he did in the last campaign,” the statement reads.

  • UPDATED: Obi surrenders, accepts Supreme Court judgement

    UPDATED: Obi surrenders, accepts Supreme Court judgement

    After eight months of legal battle, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has surrendered and accepted the judgement of the Supreme Court which affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu as president. 

    Obi said the judgment amounted to a total “breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in our judiciary.”

    The former Anambra Governor said with the legal battle over, the labour party was ready to offer a viable opposition to the ruling party. 

    He canvassed for a single term of five years, which according to him, should be rotated between the six geopolitical zones. 

    While officially reacting to the Supreme Court judgement at a news conference on Monday in Abuja, Obi said the party would continue to canvas for good governance and focus on issues that promoted national interest, unity, and cohesion as contained in its manifesto. 

    The Supreme Court on October 26, upheld the September 6 judgements of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the declaration of Tinubu as duly elected president from the February 25 Presidential election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. 

    The seven member panel, led by Justice John Inyang-Okoro, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar, who came second in the election and Obi who came third. 

    He said: “As someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, I have, after a period of deep and sober reflection, decided to personally and formally react to the recent judgment as most Nigerians have. Because we are confronted with very weighty issues of national interest, I will speak forthrightly. As students young lads at CKC, Onitsha, we were taught values and admonished to always; ‘choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong.’

    “Setting legal issues aside, the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy. It is, therefore, with great dismay that I observe that the Court’s decision contradicts the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter. 

    “These were hefty allegations that should not be treated with levity. More appalling, the Supreme Court judgment willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections. With this counter-intuitive judgment, the Supreme Court has transferred a heavy moral burden from the courtrooms to our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.

    “Without equivocation, this judgment amounts to a total breach of the confidence the Nigerian people have in our judiciary. To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable force against the very Nigerian people from whom the power of the Constitution derives. This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive justice. The judgment mixed principles and precepts. Indeed, the rationale and premise of the Supreme Court judgment, have become clearer in the light of the deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks by Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, (JSC) on Friday 27th October 2023.

    “In disagreeing very strongly with the ruling of both the Presidential Petitions Court (PEPC) and the Supreme Court on the outcome of the 25th February 2023 Presidential election as declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as democrats who believe in the rule of law, we recognize that the Supreme Court is the end stage of the quest for legal closure to the matter. 

    “As a party and as candidates, Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional remedies available to us. However, this end is only another beginning in our quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country. After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes, it behooves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this judgment on public record.

    “We have long been aware of how weak national institutions have negatively affected our democracy. This year 2023 has been quite remarkable and revealing. INEC has displayed incompetence in the 

    conduct of its statutory duty. The judiciary has largely acted in defiance of constitutional tenets, precedents, and established ground rules. Political expediency has preceded judicial responsibility. A mechanical application of technicalities has superseded the pursuit of justice and fairness. Both INEC and the Supreme Court as the referees, respectively shifted the goalposts in the middle of the game.

    “Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling ends is where our commitment to a New Nigeria begins. Our mission and mandate remain unchanged. From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria. It is a new nation where things work, where the country is led from its present waste and consumption orientation to a production-driven economy.

    ” Our commitment is to a nation anchored on the principles of prudent management of resources to quickly pull millions out of multidimensional poverty, ensuring transparency and accountability in the equitable distribution of opportunities, resources, and privileges. In the new Nigeria, we aim to address all unmet needs by showing compassion for all those left behind by the present system.

    “Going forward, we in the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement are now effectively in opposition. We are glad that the nation has heard us loud and clear. We shall now expand the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country. We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope. At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls, board rooms, and university and college campuses, we all carry and deliver the message of a new Nigeria. As stake holders and elected Labour Party officials, we shall remain loyal to our manifesto.We will continue to canvas for good governance and focus on issues that promote national interest, unity, and cohesion. We will continue to give primacy to our Constitution, the rule of law, and the protection of ordered liberties. We will offer the checks and balances required in a functional democracy and vie robustly in forthcoming elections to elect those who share our vision of a new Nigeria.

    Obi, however, said the judgement would not signify the end of the Obidient movement. 

    Rather, Obi said the party would expand the labour party’s message of hope to the rest of the country. 

    “We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope. At marketplaces, motor parks, town halls, board rooms, and university and college campuses, we all carry and deliver the message of a new Nigeria,” he said. 

    He said his resolve for a new Nigeria was still intact. 

    “In the coming months we will build the party, we will make it stronger. We will build those young people. We will come out stronger and more committed to a new Nigeria,” Obi said. 

    He added: “Given our present national circumstances, there is a compelling need for a strong political opposition. We shall, therefore, remain in opposition, especially because of the policies and the governance modalities that we in the Labour Party campaigned for, especially reducing the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law, guaranteeing the responsibility to protect, and stabilizing the Nigerian currency; are clearly not the priorities of the present administration nor is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    “If there is one thing that has immensely gladdened my heart in the course of the struggle of the past 18 months, it is the passionate desire of our people, especially our young people from across ethnic and religious divides, to construct a new and restructured Nigeria that will work for all Nigerians. That goal remains my guiding light and abiding inspiration.

    “Finally, I thank all Nigerians who believed in what is now only a revolution postponed. We deeply appreciate the unalloyed non-partisan moral support millions of youth and ordinary Nigerians across ethnic, religious, and geopolitical divides have continued to give to Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed and me.

    “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Nigerians who have supported this mission from the onset. We salute the leadership and members of the Labour Party, the Obidient Movement, the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Nigerians in the Diaspora, Support Groups, and all people of goodwill who worked diligently and hoped for the realization of the beginnings of a New Nigeria in this election cycle.

    Read Also: FULL TEXT: Peter Obi says S’Court judgment is a breach of confidence

    “Nigerians who supported our cause have done so out of patriotism and their sincere conviction that our nation requires and deserves dedicated and visionary leaders who will lead Nigeria toward a brighter future. The energy and dedication of Nigerian Youths and the Obedient Movement have been simply amazing. I appreciate and salute them! I want to assure them that this is not the end of our journey; but in fact, the beginning. Nigeria heard you. The world has taken note and will not forget so easily. We shall endure, persist, until we get to our destination because a new Nigeria is our destination. A destination not an event.

    “We thank, in a special way, our legal team. We also thank our elder States-Men, whose wise counsel were immeasurable To them, we wish to state unequivocally that this judicial outcome – an obvious misrepresentation of substantial justice – has by no means foreclosed the realization of a new Nigeria that is Possible.

    “On a personal note, I take personal pride and express gratitude to those who share our vision; and who have also exhibited rare courage to challenge the nefarious system, the genuineness of individuals’ identities and their defining and qualifying particulars up to the highest extent allowed by law. Nigeria holds out hope of infinite possibilities leading to our desirable greatness. I remain consistent in my belief in the possibility of a new Nigeria built on character competence, capacity, compassion, integrity, and respect for the rule of law based on justice and fairness.”

  • Join hands with Tinubu to build Nigeria, OPC urges Atiku, Obi

    Join hands with Tinubu to build Nigeria, OPC urges Atiku, Obi

    Oodua People’s Congress (reformed) has encouraged the presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi to join hands with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to build the country.

    Reacting to President Tinubu’s electoral victory at the Supreme Court in Abuja last week, the National President of the group, Chief Oludare Adesope said Atiku and Obi should stay back in the country and contribute resourcefully to the progress of Nigeria.

    The advice came from reports that Atiku may be jetting out of the country following his defeat again at the apex court in Abuja.

    Read Also: Tinubu welcomes repatriation of $150mn Abacha loot by France

    Adesope, while addressing the jubilant Nigerians in his Lagos office, immediately after the Supreme Court pronouncement, advised the duo to accept the outcome of their appeal and contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.

     Adeope urged President Tinubu to be more committed to the cause of making Nigeria great again. He said: ‘ I want to advise President Bola Tinubu to take security seriously, kidnapping, robbery, attacks by herdsmen, and pipeline vandalisation among others can be prevented.

  • A better Nigeria possible, says Obi

    A better Nigeria possible, says Obi

    Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the February 25 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has said there is nothing wrong with Nigeria.

    He noted that the country could be better, given its rich endowments in land, weather, natural and human resources.

    The LP chieftain stressed that Nigeria has some of the best people in the world and could become a leading nation, if it harnessed its resources carefully, judiciously, and efficiently.

    Obi spoke yesterday as the special guest of honour at the Edo Policy Roundtable, which was organised in association with Mudiame University, Irrua, and held at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre in Benin, the Edo State capital.

    The event, a colloquium and hall of fame in honour of LP National Chairman Julius Abure, with the theme: The Contemporary Nigerian Politics: The Way Forward for Edo State, was chaired by Abia State Governor Alex Otti.

    The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Ikechukwu Emetu, expressed optimism that Nigeria would make more visible progress, but sought support for its leaders.

    The keynote speaker, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, expressed optimism that Obi would become Nigeria’s president but was unsure of the time this would happen.

    Obi, who restated his commitment to the Nigerian project, said: “I am not a saint and I am not a criminal. I have never done anything that is wrong. I have served the state (Anambra) and I have served in the private sector. Today, we are going through difficulties. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.

    “Planning is a critical component. The reason countries are failing today is due to lack of plans/implementation. When politicians are campaigning for elective positions, everything is sweet and good, but when you have the opportunity to serve the people, then you will bring out your true self and start doing the opposite.

    “We can have a better Nigeria. When we have a better Edo State, we will have a better Nigeria. Working together, we can employ our people. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria.

    Read Also: Imo/Bayelsa/Kogi polls: Tinubu appeals for free, fair process

    “Nigeria has one of the best, in terms of land, weather, God-given resources, and it has some of the best people in the world. But the only thing God has not given Nigeria is leadership. If we have good leaders in this country, we will do better.

    “A country as Nigeria has no reason to be poor, if not because of leadership. We have more resourceful young people in Nigeria. We have leadership in Nigeria that is engulfed in wasteful consumption but no production. When you move from consumption to production, you will create jobs for the people.”

    The LP chieftain proposed a roundtable for Nigeria where the citizens could speak their minds and make contributions for national cohesion.

    He said: “If we get it right, we will live a better life, and all of us are involved. We must stop people from stealing public money. We must stop people from wasting public money. It is not your private money. All of us are involved. We must not celebrate them.”

    “How much money do you need to eat, as a human being? How long will you live as a human being? Everybody here, no matter how big or small you are, in 100 years from today, we will all be covered with earthworms. So, what are you acquiring things for?

    “Please, join me in building a better Nigeria. We want good news about Nigeria.”

    The chief host, Prof. S. E. Eromosele, who is the Chancellor/Founder of Mudiame University, Irrua, described the event as timely.

    He noted that the inadequacy of human capacity development was a key reason Nigeria’s economy was in a sorry state.

  • Obi laments 20 headless bodies, skeletons found in Abia

    Obi laments 20 headless bodies, skeletons found in Abia

    The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed shock over reports that 80 bodies, including 20 headless ones, as well as countless skeletons, were discovered in Abia State.

    The Nation reports Abia State Governor Alex Otti said the bodies were discovered by security operatives during a raid on the forest around Lokpanta cattle market in Umunneochi axis of Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

    Reacting to the development in a thread on his official X page yesterday, Obi described the development as “barbaric and cruel.”

    He said: “I read the bone-chilling story coming out of Abia State, where over 80 bodies were reportedly recovered around the cattle market, with about 20 headless decomposing bodies.

    “This level of barbarism and extremely cruel act only reflects how insecure our environment has been.

    “It unearths how insecurity has continued to ravage many parts of the country, taking innocent lives and killing the economy.

    “I thank Governor Otti for taking such a bold step against insecurity in the state. This is highly commendable.”

    Read Also: Japa: Collect cost of trained doctors, others from recruiting countries – Fayemi

    Obi said while he was governor of Anambra, he faced a similar situation.

    “I recall facing a similar situation in 2013 as the governor of Anambra State.

    “I was accompanying President Goodluck Jonathan to an official engagement outside the country when I received a sad report of about 35 decomposing bodies floating on Ezu River in Anambra State.

    “I had to leave everything, rushing back to the state to attend to the situation and ensure that order was restored to the vicinity.

    “Investigation was immediately commenced, with autopsies conducted, before the Federal Government took over the process and asked the state government to hands-off it,” he said.

    Obi added that security of lives and property remained the primary duty of any government and the key to any development.

    He urged governments to make more efforts to tackle insecurity.

  • Ondo ex-militants urge Atiku, Obi to support Tinubu

    Ondo ex-militants urge Atiku, Obi to support Tinubu

    Ex-militants in Ondo State have urged Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi to toe the path of peace snd support President Bola Tinubu to actualise the renewed Hope agenda designed for Nigeria and Nigerians.

    The ex-militants said that last week’s Supreme Court’s judgment was a testament that Nigerians voted for Tinubu.

    Speaking at press briefing in Akure, leader of the Ondo ex-militants, Akogun Job Omotuwa, appealed to the president to give pipeline surveillance contract in the South west coast line to the Niger Delta Coastline Vanguard (NDCV).

    Omotuwa said decentralization of the pipeline surveillance contract would produce effective service delivery and expected results in the oil and gas industry in the country.

    Read Also: Binani, APC to appeal tribunal judgement affirming Gov Fintiri’s election

    He said many ex-militants in the Southwest were yet to be integrated into the Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP).

    According to him, “Your Excellency will recall that our group was engaged by Federal government of Nigeria in collaboration with the Ondo State government in 2017 under the administration of former president Muhammadu Buhari for disarmament.

    “After a robust discussion as we believed there was no any alternative to peace and we decided to follow the path of peace by dropping all our arms and ammunitions to ensure peaceful co-existence in the Niger Delta region of Ondo State. Unfortunately, the Federal Government failed their part of the agreement based on their refusal to integrate our group into the presidential amnesty program (PAP).

    “We have chosen to follow the path of peace and we will continue to canvass peace to collaborate with all the security agencies to ensuring adequate security and peaceful co-existence in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria at large.”

  • Is Obi, LP marriage for the long haul?

    Is Obi, LP marriage for the long haul?

    The Labour Party that many described as a third force in the last presidential election has finally lost the bid to invalidate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory at the February 2023 poll, courtesy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Assistant Editor EMMANUEL BADEJO looks into the future of the party that came third in the race.

    All litigation issues concerning the presidential election of February 25, 2023, have come to an end as the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday dismissed the appeals brought by both the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubarka and the Labour Party and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi.

    The apex court, which dismissed their appeals for lack of merit, also affirmed the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who vied on the All Progressives Congress’ ticket.

    While Atiku was not new to the race, Obi was a first-timer. Notwithstanding, undisputedly, the LP candidate disrupted the political landscape in Nigeria when he clinched the presidential ticket of the Labour Party.

    Read Also: ‘Atiku, Obi cannot justify claims of winning 2023 elections’

    His candidacy raised more political awareness and consciousness in a lot of our citizens who hitherto were nonchalant to the nation’s political evolution and those that sought alternative platforms for their political aspirations.

    Obi’s entry into the race changed the narrative, as an army of youths embraced him as the ‘Messiah’ of the moment. They wanted anything other than the two major political parties – the PDP and the APC, though many were labeled as social media voters. 

    Within a few months into the race, Obi became a phenomenon in the political struggle and he nearly became the hero of the February 2023 poll, scoring over six million votes. His performance took many political actors and the two major parties by surprise.

    The last presidential election was the eighth in Nigeria’s fourth Republic. 

    Since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, the presidential poll has always been a contest between the two dominant parties in the country.

    This is despite the fact that Nigeria operates a multi-party system, where in most occasions the smaller parties’ present candidates during the presidential elections.

    The PDP that held sway for 16 years was dislodged in 2015, when the APC government headed by President Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential election.

    Unlike in the past when the presidential poll was a straight fight between the candidates of the nation’s two major parties, the APC and PDP, the reverse was the case in 2023, with the entrance of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State into the race.

    Like wildfire, across the country, the candidacy of Peter Obi gained wide popularity, among ordinary Nigerians and political elite alike.

    Obi’s popularity and acceptance also brought the Labour Party into national reckoning, and turned the workers’ party into a beautiful bride that attracted many aspirants, who contested under the platform of the party.

    Until Obi’s LP ticket, the Labour Party, linked to the nation’s main trade union, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), was largely an obscure party, with little or no presence in several states of the federation.

    However, Obi’s entrance into the presidencial race changed the narrative, bringing the party to national consciousness ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    At least at the end of the 2023 elections, the party produced a governor and also for the first time made inroad into mainstream politics as it got six Senate and 34 House of Representatives seats in the February 25 National Assembly (NASS) elections.

    The youths drove the ‘Obidient’ movement, named after Obi. Also, Obi’s presidential bid also brought the 21 years old of the Labour Party in the Nigerian political scene.

    The party, which started as Party for Social Democracy (PSD) in 2002, had hitherto been at the low ebb, struggling since then to make an impact, especially to woo the electorate on its side.

    Though Olusegun Mimiko broke the jinx in 2009 to become the first Nigerian governor to be elected on the Labour Party platform, the party had no stake at the National Assembly for a very long time, until a senator recently defected out of the 109 senators and two out of the 360 House of Representatives members.

    The figures represent a very poor performance of the party.

    However, the once obscured Labour Party, which is often missing in the ballot paper for lack of a presidential candidate, suddenly became influential, and even gave the two major parties a stiff contest for the 2023 presidential election.

    Pundits attribute the credit to Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, and running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election.

    Since he joined the Labour Party in May 2022 and emerged as its presidential candidate, the party grew in influence, especially popularity among the youths, who believed in the change Obi was promising.

    The #Obidient has been among the highest trending on social media and youths caught fire, supporting it and insisting that a true change was possible with Obi’s presidency.

    Those that keyed into the #Obedient movement believed that their principal would win the presidency.

    But, Obi campaigned largely along ethnic and religious lines, making many ardent politicians to underrate his influence.

    The LP presidential candidate first contested the governorship of Anambra in 2003, but his counterpart, Chris Ngige was declared winner of the election and sworn in.

    Obi, who felt cheated approached the court and in 2006, the Supreme Court declared him the winner and in March same year, he was sworn in as Anambra Governor under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    In October 2014, having stayed 11 years with APGA, the ‘star boy’ decamped to the PDP, joining Atiku’s presidential ticket.

    He was in the PDP until 2022, when it was clear that the northern oligarchy were not ready to relinquish power to the South.

    Obi had to find another platform through which he can actualize his long-term dream of becoming the president of Nigeria.

    Now, with the election long over and all cases rested, will Obi be able to sustain the momentum to keep the LP relevant? If he is able to do that, with a divided house, will he be able to secure the presidential ticket of the party in 2027, even if he intends to run?  Again, can he count on all his key supporters still remaining in the fold till next election year?

    But pundits are already predicting that Obi, if he does not return to his old party, he should brace up for many challenges that may likely confront him.

    One of such challenges is that some old order, who had accused Obi of hijacking their party, may fight back. This class of people within the party, who said Obi does not know the party, only hired the platform for the poll.

    Besides, the party is torn between two gladiators – Apapa and Julius Abure.  The two camps are at loggerheads and it was glaring that they worked at cross-purpose during the electioneering.

    And feelers within the party revealed that the leadership tussle rocking the party won’t go away soon and if this persists, it will be detrimental to the party’s unity and cohesion.

    Another challenge before Obi as the face of the party is how to galvanise his online followers to birth a well-structured party across wards and local governments in the country. This largely also contributed to the party’s failure in the last election.

    To achieve this, Obi and his travellers must settle down to commence an intensive membership drive that would give him the needed structure, if he decides to run 2027. But the challenge here is the cost of getting this exercise done.  Can Obi with his lovers foot the bill?

    It will not be a surprise if some of his lawmakers defect from the party to either the ruling party or any other to keep their political ambition.  Some of them are already falling in love with the government of President Tinubu.

    But the party has insisted to move on and remain resolute to focus on the goal.

    According to Julius Abure, who addressed a press conference after the Supreme Court’s verdict, said the party was shocked that the apex court could validate Tinubu’s victory.

    “We are indeed very shocked and surprised that even the apex court will toe the line of an earlier judgment in spite of all the flaws associated with the judgment delivered by the Presidential Election Appeal Tribunal.

    “Having conclusively exercised our fundamental rights as gifted to us by the laws of the land, we have no other choice but to move on. We may be disappointed and dismayed by the outcome of the exercise but we have chosen to trudge on and to remain optimistic of what the future holds for the nation.

    He also urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the country, adding that “we are hopeful that we will get to our destination someday because where there is a will, certainly, there will be a way. A new Nigeria is still possible.”

  • ‘Atiku, Obi cannot justify claims of winning 2023 elections’

    ‘Atiku, Obi cannot justify claims of winning 2023 elections’

    Chief Ibrahim Emokpaire is a human rights and criminal justice lawyer. He contested for the national chairmanship position of the All Progressives Congress (ACN) in 2018 but eventually stepped down for Adams Oshiomhole. He has held various positions in the party right from the days of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) before it metamorphosed into the APC. He was the secretary of the ACN, UK Chapter from 2006 till 2012 He was also the chairman of the APC UK (2012-2013) and the chairman and convener of the Progressives Solidarity for Asiwaju, a pro-Tinubu campaign support group. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he bares his mind on several issues, including the performance of the Bola Tinubu administration so far, concerns being raised by Nigerians, the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the last general election, as well as the chances of the APC in the forthcoming governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi.

    What is your assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s first 100 days?

    President Bola Tinubu should be given a pass mark for his first 100 days in office because he has initiated a lot of policies that have put our country in the right direction. The president took bold steps in initiating some pragmatic policies that have put the country in the right direction. You could see that from the first day;  he hit the ground running. He removed the subsidy right from the day of his inauguration. We have also taken steps to cushion the effects of the withdrawal of petroleum subsidies on the poor.

    When you look at the harmonization of the foreign exchange market, if you look at the tax reform that he has put in place, and quite a lot of policies that he has put in place now, you would see that these things were done within the first 100 days. We could see that the president himself had taken the country and marketed the country to the entire world. We have now begun to have a positive image of Nigeria; we are now a proud nation in the comity of nations. This is what we need from a president who has mapped out what to do as soon as he comes into office.

    He has also been able to initiate all these policies and we could see that more and more investment-friendly policies have been put in place and that these have encouraged investors to come to Nigeria. I would say he has done tremendously well within the first 100 days.

    What do you make of the claim by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that they won the 2023 presidential election?

    It is quite unfortunate that in this part of the world, we have bad losers; people usually embark on a propaganda of illegitimacy, after losing elections. How can a person who could only garner 25 per cent in 16 states be crying wolf? Even Atiku who came second was only able to garner 25 per cent in 21 states; you tell me how on earth can you make such people president? On what grounds are they expecting to be declared president by INEC?

    By every standard, the propaganda they have embarked upon is to delegitimize the entire process that was carried out by INEC on February 25. There is no genuine claim in what they have embarked upon because they have continued to blow the wrong side of the trumpet and try to hoodwink Nigerians, particularly those who are innocent.

    However, there were complaints about the manner the election was conducted. Against this background, how would you rate INEC’s performance in the exercise?

    I would say the election conducted on February 25, 2023, by the INEC was one of the best it has ever conducted. This is bearing in mind that during the period of this election the commission faced a lot of challenges; in the area of insecurity and scarcity of naira notes because of the redesigning policy that was carried out. Amid this, INEC was able to carry out one of the best elections in the history of Nigeria. This is because when you look at the fact that somebody like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could lose Lagos to the LP and former President Buhari could lose Katsina to the PDP and some other states in the Northeast and the North-central to the main opposition party. You tell me the person who would have rigged the election as a result of having to monopolize what is in their state is one of the leading opposition candidates, Peter Obi, who scored 93 per cent of the entire vote cast in his region, the Southeast. When you look at these challenges I enumerated, I believe INEC should be given kudos and rate them to have performed 70-80 per cent in their performance.

    Opposition parties are not as vibrant as they used to be. What does this portend for the country’s democracy?

    It is not a healthy development to have a one-party system; we need to have a viable opposition party that can suggest alternative policies and put the ruling party on its toes. Unfortunately, the PDP and the LP are just playing to the gallery, garnering support on social media by attacking personalities. They go after personal issues, and there is no single iota of opposition in them. They have not come up with alternative policies; they have not come up with anything that Nigerians will say is a viable opposition. That’s why we are where we are.

    Why has it been so difficult for your party to resolve the lingering crises it is embroiled in several states? Critics say it is going the way of the former ruling party, the PDP.

    We have some challenges here and there in the party, but that is not to say that we are following the path of the PDP. This is because we have a party that is growing stronger by the day and we are resolving some of the problems as they come as well. We also have in place conflict resolution mechanisms within the party to resolve some of these problems. So the issue of fragmentation would not come in at this point at all.

    What do you think your party can do to avoid going the way of the PDP?

    As I said, we have a conflict resolution mechanism. That is the best way for the party not to fall apart; because it will ensure that inclusiveness and everyone is carried along. There is also the need to have a reward system at the party. The reward system is key and is done everywhere in the world, particularly in the United States and the UK. Here, there is what we call a reward system for the party loyalists and the people who have worked so hard for the party.

    Governors and their deputies have continued to be at the loggerheads. What is the way out of this perennial crisis?

    Regarding the situation with the governors and their deputies, our constitution is the root of the issue, because there is a lacuna there where the deputy is left as a spare tyre. But, where the governor is not available, the deputy comes on board. Outside that the deputy keeps watching; they are in the back seat. There is a need for a constitutional review to give some specific roles to deputy governors to ensure that some of the loopholes are plugged, particularly to take care of where a governor begins to act like a demi-god and begin to treat the deputy like a nobody.

    We do understand that the deputy and the governor have one ticket; they are both elected into office and as a result of that they are one and it is not fair for one to be treating the other as a spare tyre or as a nobody. There should be a role carved out for deputies and also to limit the power of the governors. This is the responsibility of the National Assembly.

    This particular situation has demeaned the value of that particular office of the deputy governor. Today, the deputy governor is more or less like a beggar. Imagine seeing a deputy governor begging the governor openly, particularly when it is obvious that he is being unjustly treated.

    While many have commended the APC for its policies, others have also criticized the party for the slow implementation of its policies, especially those that affect the masses. How do you explain this?

    Read Also: Join hands with Tinubu, APGA,LP faction tell Atiku, Obi

    When you have a new government in place, a situation where manifestos were developed and policies designed along those lines, the implementation is a result of what the president and ministers must have met on the ground. There are enormous differences between the proposed policies and when you get to the office, the reality on the ground is different. The reality on the ground must have slowed down the implementation of policies. We have seen that some of the policies that have been developed take a lot of time to implement. The public needs to be a little bit patient when you have good policies in front of you.

    The government needs to do more by letting the public, the electorate know that these policies need to come into play but they should be a little bit patient with them. In the long run, the policies will surely have positive impacts on the citizenry, and whatever the hardship, whatever they have been going through will be cushioned by these policies as the implementation goes on.

    Right now, the country is divided along tribal lines…

    We had an unfortunate situation in the last election where some leaders were whipping up sentiments; religious and ethnic sentiment, instead of focusing on their policies, and manifesto. The campaign of the LP candidate particularly was full of propaganda; he did unveil his manifesto until a few weeks before the election. All their propaganda from day one was to capitalize on the religious and the ethnic.

    Similarly, the PDP was also whipping up ethnic sentiment in the north against other candidates. It came up with so many lies. These were unhealthy for the entire country; it is unhealthy for our nation, and this could degenerate. We pray that in the future we have leaders that will contest an election based on issues, not on ethnic or religious issues.

    Some people had assumed that the APC would zone its Senate Presidency to the Southeast, but surprisingly; it went to the South-south. Would you say your party made the right decision?

    On this issue, there are two different schools of thought. The first school of thought said look the Senate President must come from the Southeast because we should appease the Southeast because they were not able to produce President and Vice President or whatever but the other school of thought made it quite clear and very logical, according to them, the Southeast has produced so many Senate Presidents in the past than any other region in the entire South and our party, the APC did not have enough vote from the Southeast to justify being given Senate Presidency. Those were the two topical issues that were being argued by the two schools of thought.

    So the party came together and said this should be zoned to the Southsouth it had only produced a Senate President once and has also contributed so much as well to ensure they won or had their 25 per cent in that region.

    What are the chances of your party in the off-season elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa states?

    Our chances are bright, the issue here is that I won’t just say our chances are bright, particularly in Kogi and Imo where we currently have APC governors, one going for a second term and the other bowing out. In these two states, our chances are far higher because they have produced and delivered what is in their manifesto. In the case of Imo, for example, he is going to do well and Governor Hope Uzodimma will be returned as the governor of that state because he has performed; he has delivered.

    Looking at the other two, where we have fresh candidates, Bayelsa, and Kogi states, our chances are also good. In Kogi State, there is an existing governor who was elected on the platform of the APC but we have a division in the party there. For example, we know that some of our APC members moved to other parties in Kogi East, and in Kogi West. As a result, we might be losing some pockets of votes, but that does not mean we are not going to win the election. But, it is going to require a lot of hard work for us to win.

    In Bayelsa, we have seen that we have a former governor contesting who is also a strong candidate. So, there is every likelihood that he is going to beat the PDP candidate, who is the sitting governor there.