Peter Obi Archives

February 23, 2023

Breaking: Peter Obi deserted by Labour Party state chairmen

State chairmen of the Labour Party (LP) have declared that the presidential candidate of the party Peter Obi cannot win on Saturday, as they parted ways.

This, they said, is because he has neglected the 36 State chairmen in the running of campaign and mobilisation activities.

Alleging neglect by Obi, they said the former Anambra Governor has failed to recognise the important role of the 36 state chapters’ leadership but choose to work with cronies and support groups.

The Gombe State LP chairman and co-ordinating chairman for the 36 States, Sani Abdulsalam, told reporters in Abuja that such tendencies could affect the party’s performance at the polls.

He was accompanied by the national vice chairman (North East), Mohammed Alkali and the Yobe State chairman, Ibrahim Bukar, amongst others.

Abdulsalam alleged that money meant for the mobilisation of poll agents was withheld by the national chairman, Julius Abure.

He hinted that monies expected to be channelled to polling unit agents through state chairmen or national officers have not been done, stressing the fundamental need for polling unit agents for winning elections.

While bemoaning the paucity of LP’s polling unit agents, among other things, he accused Obi of insensitivity and high-handedness.

Abdulsalam said: “I speak on behalf of 36 state Chairmen of our party in my capacity as the Coordinating Chairman.

“We have never been respected by the party leadership and also our presidential candidate has no respect for our party executives at state levels because Peter Obi deliberately mismanaged our goodwill with the imposition of his members and other support groups that decamped with him in May 2022 to our party.

“Of note, Wednesday, February 22, 2023, was the meeting we had with the National Chairman in the party head office where a discussion was held about the logistics support for state chapters and National officers towards effective Mobilisation of our members for the presidential and National Assembly election on Saturday, February 25, 2023

“To our surprise, the National Chairman said the Presidential candidate has no confidence in all the 36 state chapters’ leadership but would rather choose to work with their cronies and support group that came with him.

“The greatest shock from the National Chairman was that money for agents will not be sent to any State Chairman or National officers except those three NWC members including a woman and that all state Chairmen and 19 other members already picked by Mr Peter Obi himself will be given monies meant for party agents and an alert will be received by 10 pm tonight Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

“As of now, no alert has been received by any State Chairmen and information reaching us confirmed that money was paid based on ethnic and religious consideration because only persons of a particular ethnic group currently run the campaign of Mr Peter Obi in cohort with the National Chairman, has polluted the party.

“As members of the Labour Party National Executive and National Working Committee, it is our considered opinion and informed conclusion that Peter Obi cannot win this election since all party executives have been sidelined. He is not ready and is grossly ill-prepared for the Presidential race.”

Reported by The Nation

February 12, 2023

Peter Obi’s condemnable Alaba Market politicking

Alaba Market, Peter Obi

By PROF. YEMI OKE

*From Rumours to Manifestations*
It began like a rumour; unfound imaginative sentiments of his political rivals, but the manifestation proved his critics right. The style of ethnocentric politicking and manner of Obi’s campaign in Ibo-dominated Alaba market square during his recent Presidential campaign in Lagos has proven Peter Obi’s penchant for needlessly divisive, dangerous ethnocentric politicking which is both condemnable and undesirable at this point of our nationhood*.

Rationally, one might not be hasty to condemn or be too hard in criticising the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for his refusal to frontally and decisively condemn the activities of IPOB and other self-styled “Biafra Warlords” wreaking havoc and manifesting most heinous criminalities on the good people of South-East and elsewhere. But, it stands logic and commonsensical rationalities in the head why Peter Obi (a South-Easterner) entered Lagos, a South-West cosmopolitan and accommodating city of prosperity for all-irrespective of tribal or ethnic orientations, and opted to visit only his kinsmen and women in the Ibo-dominated Alaba market.

*The Makeba Dance*
Typical of a distasteful “makeba dance in the market square”, Peter Obi uttered words that would appear insensitive and insulting to the host Yoruba race. This is not to hype ethnicity but reality. I doubt it if a Yoruba or Fulani man or woman would display that level of rude effrontery in the South-West.

Lagos is for all. We all know that same would not apply to Fulani, Yoruba, Nupe and other ethnic traders in Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba and other markets in the South-East. As a High-Chief in Yorubaland, I wish to put on record that what Obi did is tantamount to insensitive act of counting the ‘nine-fingers’ with full consciousness of victim (A kii ti oju onika mesan ka’a!). This further reinforces and underscores the desire of Nigerians to vote a detribalised leader in the February 25, 2023 presidential election. Doing otherwise would be costly and risky for the continued existence and unity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*Peter Obi knew that an Oba exists in Lagos- Oba of Lagos, yet he opted to ignore him. Conventionally, the usual political and electioneering itinerary is for the visitor to first pay a courtesy visit to the ruler and ancestral owners of the land which the Oba, Obi or Emir of the town represents*.

Would Peter Obi have done same to the highly intellectual Obi of Onitsha? It is disgusting that Peter Obi preferred his Ibo kinsmen and ignored the Hausa community in Idi-Oro in Mushin. He did not visit Yaba, Surulere, Iyana-Ipaja or elsewhere to create an impression that his aspiration for Nigeria’s presidency and not tribal (Ibo) presidency. He should have known better.

*Would Tinubu, Atiku, Kwankwaso Have Done Same?*
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso visited Lagos, he did not indulge in the cossy enclaves of his ‘talakawa’ followers in Mushin and other “Sabo’ in Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan or elsewhere. Atiku Abubakar visited Lagos and, in his characteristic manner, he visited the Oba of Lagos and others without particularizing his visit to the Fulani elites or Hausa-Fulani communities in the markets in Mushin and other locations. Atiku went to Abeokuata and called on Alake of Egbaland, our revered king who made me “Bada-Baamofin of Egabland.

*Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who deployed policy and other positive administrative measures to make Alaba market, Aspanda market, and igbo-dominated Ladipo spare-parts market in Mushin centers of wealth would have acted differently. As Governor, Tinubu could have closed down the Alaba, Aspanda or Ladipo spare-parts and other Ibo-dominated markets. He did not. Rather, he appointed Ibos into his cabinets and other sensitive appointments. His successors, Fasola, Ambode and Sanwo-Olu have also continued the healthy and progressive dispositions to those Ibo-dominated enclaves in Lagos State.*

Those Ibo-markets have received Lagos State attentions in terms of development and infrastructure, and are now vital grounds for prosperity and wealth by traders from South-East, who largely dominate and reap fortunes and wealth. *Bola Tinubu or Atiku or Kwankwaso would not have played very cheap, debased and condemnable ethnocentric politics like Peter Obi.*

*Asiwaju Tinubu knows there are Yorubas in Anambra, Kano, Sokoto and elsewhere. He opted to demonstrate and amplify national unity and did not proceed to Yoruba neighborhoods in those locations to dance the distasteful “makeba dance in the market square” like Peter Obi did most insensitively.*

Nigerians, “Shine Your Eyes”
Indeed, we as Nigerians mush “shine our eyes”. It would be difficult for any right-thinking, ethnic-neutral Nigerian to view Peter Obi as a detribalised Nigerian. I don’t, and millions other also don’t either.

The February 25 presidential election will send a very strong signal that we are Nigerians and we chose to live as Nigerians irrespective of our ethnic and religious differences. Developed countries like Canada, US and the UK take pride in their multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicity. We should not allow any politician to use our natural ethnic settings to divide us. Our diversity is a matter of national assets.

We do not trust ethnocentric presidential aspirants. Kudos to the drafters of the portion of the Nigerian Constitution and Electoral Act that make it compulsory for candidates to score one-thirds in two-thirds of the States in Nigeria including Abuja. This makes it practically impossible for anyone to get elected on the basis of needlessly divisive and condemnable tribal sentiments and ethnocentric style of politicking.

Nigerians will decide, and we shall decide right.

*We love this country.*
*This GIANT called NIGERIA will rise, and never to fall again!*
—————
*PROF. YEMI OKE, PhD, FCArb, FCTI*
*(Bada-Baamofin of Egbaland)*
*(Lawyer, Scholar, Energy Consultant and Political Actor)*

February 12, 2023

February 10, 2023

Peter Obi and those Onitsha-market polls

Nextier Poll, Peter Obi

By Fredrick Nwabufo

Propaganda, lies, and chicanery have always been instruments of war. In World War 2, Germany actuated and deployed the most pervasive, yet incisive propaganda ever witnessed in history. For the Germans, the idea was to psychologically overwhelm their adversaries, and consequently, secure victory on terra firma. The most pernicious warfare is that of the mind.

Politics, ordinarily, should not be warfare. But in a system of constant collision of interests like ours; it is sadly so. The weapons of political warfare are both corporeal and subliminal. The battle is fought in the minds of the electorate long before Election Day.

The recent Nextier poll which arrogates dubious electoral advantage to Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is an asymptote of political sorcery. The poll is essentially a subterfuge, a ruse, a gambit, an artifice; it is a serpentine machination through and through.

The Nextier 2023 presidential election survey like the ANAP Poll before it, is a deliberate fabrication in the pursuit of political gain. The poll seeks to achieve predetermined objectives – (1) to endorse Peter Obi as the people’s candidate; (2) to exaggerate Peter Obi’s electoral value; (3) to create a siege of choice and chaos should the outcome of presidential election reflect a different candidate; and (4) to prejudice the election with an impossible fait accompli.

Nextier said it used ‘’144 enumerators to poll 3,000 respondents in all states in Nigeria’’ to determine its projections. This is clearly defective and not extensive — as it leaves more room for error than stated by the pollster.

According to Nextier’s projections, survey respondents in all the southeast states; in four out of six states in the southwest; in six states in the south-south, and in two states in the north-central preferred Peter Obi as president of Nigeria. The poll also projected impressive performance for Peter Obi in the northwest and the northeast. This is ludicrous. The survey obviously discounted voting behaviour across the states, demographics, as well as sociological and ethnological influences among the electorate across the zones.

The Nextier Poll is not worth a breath of concern, really. It is sufficiently flawed in conception, and design. The preconceived agenda is obvious. Political propaganda through questionable polls. The poll is not different from the quotidian tallying of goods by Onitsha-market traders.

There have been open threats of violence by supporters of Peter Obi if he loses the election. These polls which mock reality, objectivity and common sense could be ammunition for what is to come if the election does not go in the way of the ‘’Obidients’’.

There should be a ceiling for propaganda. When electoral impossibilities are sold as definite outcomes by established pollsters, the risk is ominous. There is nothing dissuading the thought that ‘’Obidients’’, known to be choleric and unthinking, in their delusion of certain victory will not unleash themselves on the nation.

There are concerns that the country may experience another insurrection in the gravity of the #EndSARS violence over the outcome of the presidential election. It is dangerous giving hope where there is obviously no chance; it is foolhardy creating a dream that is unrealisable. It is unwise holding unto an illusion, believing it and living it. The only way out of this phantasm is the asylum.

As I wrote in a previous column, Peter Obi did not plan to run for president. If he did plan to run for president, he would not be freewheeling through endless tunnels of gaffes and inchoate ideas. But really, he did not plan to run for president. An accident happened.

Peter Obi’s presidential bid is a freak of politics; an idea contrived for performance and political quota. His bid is perhaps only relevant for regional affirmation and for intimation of anger by a section of the youth.

Obi’s bid was not out of compulsion to fix Nigeria or to make any change to the country; it was a just response to the scheming in the PDP. He was schemed out of the loop by a party notable for treachery. Peter Obi never planned, designed, or imagined running for president. His presidential bid is a hoax and a ploy to get back at those in the PDP who declared him a political liability.

Running for president takes intention; it takes years of planning; building a network of people and structures. It is not a happenstance or what you decide on in protest against the scheming in your party.

Peter Obi is not running for president to win, ‘’Obidients’’ must understand this; he only wants to make a trenchant statement, and perhaps build a following to secure political value-ship. If he was really running to win, he would have started forging alliances and building the necessary cross-zonal network years ago.

‘’Obidients’’ must give up chasing a will-o-the-wisp; they must become realistic and measure their expectations.

Fredrick Nwabufo; Nwabufo aka Mr OneNigeria is a media executive.

January 22, 2023

The Obidients and the Fallacious Politics of 2023

Peter Obi, Salihu Lukman

By Salihu Moh. Lukman

A close friend and comrade recently asked me if I am Obedient, suggesting that I am supporting Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party. To say the least, I was very dismayed that anyone could imagine I will support any candidate other than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I may excuse any person if he/she is meeting me for the first time. Having come a long way both as activist and learner of politics since my student days in the 1980s, our commitment to politics and the development of Nigeria was informed by a clear vision to build a society founded on equality and justice. Our politics of support or opposition to leaders normally take bearing from our assessment of commitment of individual leaders to issues of equality and justice, which is more a function of producing accountable leaders who will work to meet the expectations of citizens.

Somehow, our contemporary reality is that political choices are largely informed by sentiments often based on perceptions without any evidential objective indicator of probable commitment to deliver services and meet the expectations of citizens. It is more a case of blind expectations, which can only lead us to more frustrations and anger with our leaders. Partly because scholarship is very poor today in Nigeria, there are many so-called Obidient supporters who promote outright falsehood and politics hate against other candidates and their supporters. This is unfortunately self-defeatist.

As a member of APC, I want to campaign for all our candidates while at the same time respecting our opposition. People are free to make their choices and we should respect that. Once the element of respect is removed from politics of choices of candidates, then democracy risks being downgraded to the level of anarchy. The temptation to indulge in politics of disrespect could be linked to the apparent lack of confidence of winning the election. It is almost a case of if I lose it means the bad people have impose themselves again. Everything is reduced to a contest between the good and the bad. What makes any candidate good or bad, is left to some intuitive presentations by individuals who often reduced political contests to bullying conditions.

With reference to the so-called Obidient, as much as we respect their choice, we also must appeal to them to honestly recognise the shortcomings of Mr. Peter Obi as a politician and Labour Party (LP) as a political party. Recognising these shortcomings will be important in convincing Nigerians that they are engaging the contest also as a strategy to reform both the person of Mr. Peter Obi and the organisation of LP as a political party. In terms of the person of Mr. Peter Obi, so far, his characteristics is that of a typical Nigerian politician who is more of an election merchant presenting himself every four years for election, even if it means changing political party.

Being an election merchant connote obvious lack of commitment and discipline to be loyal to any political party. This partly explains why Mr. Obi moved from All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now LP between 2015 and now. What is the guarantee that his candidature of LP also bears a commitment to develop the LP and get it to overcome all its challenges. Noting that it is a public knowledge that LP has been embroiled in leadership crisis, how is Mr. Obi using his campaign to negotiate the resolution of LP crisis. From a distant point of view, Mr. Obi is in fact indifferent to the crisis facing LP.

Beyond being indifferent, Mr. Obi is clearly alien to any ideological standpoint that can bring him close to the working class, which is the primary constituency of LP. Some of us are privileged to have been intellectually and organically connected to that constituency. In fact, I am privileged to have managed the project which conceived and facilitated the initial negotiation between Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and its partners, notably civil society, which produced the LP in 2003. Part of the reality facing LP had to do with the close shop mentality of labour leaders, which blocked the party from being open to other Nigerians outside the mainstream labour movement. This reality blew open in the face of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for instance when in 2007 after serving his eight years term as President of NLC and wanted to win the 2007 Governorship election in Edo State, he had to syndicate alliance with Action Congress (AC). Interestingly, once he wins the 2007 election, that was the end of the alliance as he moved to AC, while his LP membership became history.

Part of what must be recognised in all these debates is that the fallacious politics of 2023 is more about the disappointments of Nigerians with our leaders and the state of the nation. While it is important to recognise the legitimate disappointment of Nigerians with our leaders and the state of the nation, it will remain a fallacy to imagine that a simple choice of a typical election merchant can resolve Nigeria’s challenges. Not just Peter Obi, any other politician with the characteristics of changing political parties for the purpose of contesting elections, such a person is not what Nigeria need today. Without prejudice to my respect for Alh. Atiku Abubakar and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, they are both in the same category with Mr. Obi. Alh. Atiku has been either a Presidential candidate or aspirant in every election in different parties since 2007. Sen. Kwankwaso has moved from PDP to APC, back to PDP between 2015 and 2019, before finally forming New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2022 and present himself as the Presidential candidate of the party for 2023 election.

Out of all the leading candidates, the only one that has never left his party to any party is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is the only one that although he has been a national political leader since he left office as Governor of Lagos State in 2007 that is presenting himself for the first time as a Presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. In addition, he is the only contestant who together with other leaders of APC envisioned the political roadmap for the defeat of PDP. Together with President Muhammadu Buhari they provided the inspirational leadership that successfully negotiated the emergence of APC in 2013. The formation of APC was the first successful merger negotiation of opposition parties in Nigeria. It was also the first opposition to defeat a ruling party in 2015.

Without doubt, Nigerians had a lot of expectations. One of the expectations of Nigerians and indeed many of us in APC is that the management of the APC will broaden internal democracy and minimise, if not eliminate politics of imposition of candidates, which is the main characteristics of PDP. Broadening internal democracy is correlated to facilitate the emergence of good accountable leaders. Internal management of political parties and the process of candidates’ selection within a political party are strongly entwined such that once leaders of a political party are weakly accountable to members and interest groups within the party, it will be highly probable that internal process of candidate selection will hardly be representative of the diverse interests of members. Once emergence of candidates is not representative of interests of members of political parties, elected representatives produced by such party are more likely to be unaccountable to electorates.

Before highlighting our reality in APC, it is interesting how activist with some clear ideological orientation can suggest that a Mr. Obi who within a week of his exit out of PDP and joining LP can inspire any hope of emerging as an accountable President. In the case of Alh. Atiku, the level of intolerance and mismanagement of internal leadership dispute should frighten every patriotic Nigerian about entrusting the leadership of the country to such a person. Sen. Kwankwoso’s politics present him as philosopher king which only revolves around his person and any opposition will not be allowed.

The reality in APC is that party management is weakly accountable to members and interest groups within the party. Party organs are not meeting as provided in the party constitution, which undermine issues of accountability by party leaders. There are internal opposition to this reality, which often contest discretionary decisions by party leaders. For instance, during the last process that produced candidates for the 2023 election within the APC, there were instances of attempts to impose discretionary decisions, which would have led to imposition of Presidential candidate. Thanks to the personal disposition of President Muhammadu Buhari who refused to adopt any discretionary decision to impose a so-called consensus candidate, internal opposition to the attempt by some party leaders to impose a so-called consensus candidate, which led to the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the Presidential candidate of our party.

The emergence of Asiwaju as the Presidential candidate of APC was the product of open internal contest in APC. Unlike most of the Presidential candidates of the other opposition parties, Asiwaju was not a product of imposition. It can also be argued that Alh. Atiku also won PDP primary. However, the difference between Asiwaju and Alh. Atiku is the ability to successful negotiate and win the support of other party leaders who contested against him. Today, all those who contested against Asiwaju in APC are working for his victory.

One of the crimes of Asiwaju as propagated by the opposition is the so-called failure of APC government at federal level. No doubt, like any other nation, Nigeria is faced with challenges. Do these challenges represent failure? No. Both Asiwaju and the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) have recognise the progress recorded by APC administration of President Buhari and the challenges facing the country. Both Asiwaju and all leaders of APC are never in denial of all the challenges facing the country. In addition, both Asiwaju and all APC leaders have evaluated our performance in government at federal level.

The disposition of Asiwaju and all our leaders is to develop the needed strategy on what needs to be done to build on all the successes of President Buhari’s administration. As part of that disposition is the question of further deepening accountability both within the party and between elected leaders and Nigerians. This is a fundamental issue and is at the heart of all the challenges facing the country. For Nigeria to be a truly democratic nation, both political parties and elected representatives must be accountable. Unlike all the other candidates, it is only Asiwaju who is a product of internal struggle within the party for accountability. The candidature of Asiwaju therefore represent the hope for the emergence of accountable leaders. To have accountable leaders require the presence of political parties with accountable management as provided in their rules.

There are other subsidiary issues that unfortunately are being used by political opposition to rationalise political choices of individuals. This includes the whole challenge of brain drain, for instance. While it is important to recognise the desire of every human being to access better opportunities, we must, as a nation, avoid generalisations. Nigerians who moved of out of the country in search of greener pastures are in different categories. There are those who legitimately want to excel in their chosen field of endevour international. There are those who just believe that they can only excel outside Nigeria because, for them, Nigeria represents everything that is bad. There is the third category who are simply just adventurous and just want to go into the world and have a feel of the good life that is out there.

Somehow, many so-called Obidients have politicise discussions around the issue of brain drain and they use it buttress issues of failure of government. Brain drain is certainly a challenge and if Nigeria is to develop, we must address any condition that makes us unable as a nation to keep our skilled labour force. At the same time, we must also be able to attract our children back home to contribute to the development of the country after studies abroad. The debate about managing these challenges should be separated from that of managing the challenge of some Nigerians who left the country without the requisite skills to enable them access opportunities outside Nigeria. Therefore, while recognising the legitimate voices of Nigerian diaspora professionals about the desire to produce good leaders in the country, we must also be wary about the desperate voices of some diaspora Nigerians whose anger is not limited to our situation in Nigeria, but more a reflection of personal frustration because of being unable to develop needed skills to access the opportunities that took them out of the country in the first place.

Be that as it may however, as a nation, our political leaders must be prepared to engage this reality. Addressing this reality is more a function of recognising our diversity and how it manifests in our national challenges. This what Asiwaju, in the foreword to Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan for a Better Nigeria, eloquently highlighted that “Nigeria is a unique nation, impressive in its diverse character and composition, resounding and hopeful in unity and collective fate. Home to over 200 million vibrant people, Nigeria stands as the most populous nation on the African continent and the largest concentration of Black people on earth. It is beyond debate that we owe the duty of national progress to our progeny and to ourselves.”

This is more about our vision to make our leaders accountable and not simple choices of individual candidates. Many of us in APC are supporting Asiwaju as part of our ongoing campaign to continue to build the APC as a progressive party, capable of producing accountable elected representatives at all levels. We do so with full confidence that Asiwaju will build on the legacy of President Buhari, which also include respecting internal debate and contestation within the APC. APC is the only party today in Nigeria that permit internal debate and contestations.

* Dr Salihu Lukman is a member of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress

January 20, 2023

Sultan Abubakar denies endorsing Peter Obi

Peter Obi, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE SULTANATE…

IGNORE IRRESPONSIBLE ATTEMPT TO DRAG SULTAN INTO POLITICS of 2023 BY PETER OBI CAMPAIGNERS

The attention of Media Team of Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, has been drawn to a statement circulating on social media titled, “BREAKING: SULTAN OF SOKOTO WRITES” with an opening credited to Sultan purportedly saying, “Hold me responsible if Peter Obi didn’t perform well, the problem of the North is from the north, not Peter Obi or an Igbo man, it will be worst and more deadly for the North if Tinubu wins, if they tell you an Igbo man is the problem of Nigeria, tell them Igbo man never rule Nigeria before and north is world poverty capital”.

Ordinarily the statement should not be dignified with a pinch of reaction but because of the need to put the record straight for the sake of truth seeking Nigerians. Recall that this is not the first time such misleading statement would be circulated in effort to climb on the influential personality and name of the Sultan to score political goals. Unfortunately for the these pitiable political campaigners, Sultan of Sokoto is – strictly speaking – a traditional ruler and leader of Muslims of Africa’s most populous country. Moreso, as a retired Army General, his discipline, commitment and unalloyed to Nigeria is non-nogotiable.

For the avoidance of doubt, the statement is fake because such an irresponsible write-up, credited to him, could not have emanated from anywhere near or around His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).

Between Wednesday and Thursday, the Sultan played host to several figures including the outgoing and new General Officers Commanding (GOCs), Eighth Division Nigerian Army, Sokoto, Major Generals O. Bassey and Godwin Mutkut, respectively, Vice Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Kashim Shettima, among others.

It would interest Nigerians to know that Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Dr. Peter Obi, was not one of those that paid visit to the palace, be it on Wednesday or Thursday. So, how some agents of discord whose stock-in-trade is to thrive on cooking falsehoods and peddling of Fame news think that they can get through with this remains unknown to common sense.

The simple challenge is to ask them to publish a copy of the letter purportedly written by the Sultan or a video or audio clip where he endorsed Peter Obi and denied APC Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as contained in their peddled fakeness. If they cannot, and of a surety they cannot, they should desist from this indefensible claim and unpardonable lie using the good bane of his His Eminence because it will backfire.

It should, however, be made clear to the good people of Nigeria that this , like many others in the past by the Peter Obi campaigners, would not stop the Sultan from continuing to play his role as a multifaceted leader and father of all and so, his doors will remain open to all aspirants across all parties and other meaningful people from across the country.

More important to Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar at this time and always are security, peace and unity of Nigeria, especially as the nation is fast moving into its long planned and heavily invested general elections. He will continue to support all efforts that will lead to success of the election process. So, let any incoherent claims of naysayers be ignored. Sultan is not a politician.

PRINCE BASHIR ADEFAKA,
For: Media Team of the Sultan of Sokoto

Thursday January 19, 2023.

January 1, 2023

Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi worthless

Olusegun Obasanjo, Peter Obi

PRESS STATEMENT

OBASANJO’S ENDORSEMENT OF MR. PETER OBI IS WORTHLESS

We read with amusement the endorsement of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his New Year message on Sunday.

Following calls by journalists from various media houses who asked for our reaction we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didn’t consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.

We respect the democratic right of former President Obasanjo to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election.

Except that he made it known formally in his new year message, any discerning political watcher in Nigeria knows that Chief Obasanjo’s preference for Peter Obi is expected. He had earlier stated his position at various public events, the last being at the 70th birthday anniversary of Chief John Nwodo, former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Enugu.

We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.

The endorsement is actually worthless because the former President does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a Councillorship election let alone win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight.

He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.

We recall that in 2003 and 2007 general elections when he was a sitting President, Obasanjo used all the coercive instruments of State at his disposal to railroad people into elective offices against the will of Nigerians as expressed at the polls. In 2007, he declared the polls a do or die affair after he failed in his bid to amend our constitution to have a third term.

From our records, President Obasanjo has not successfully made anyone win election in Nigeria since then.

Not even in Ogun State can anyone rely on his support or endorsement to become a governor or Councillor.

We pity Peter Gregory Obi as we are confident that Chief Obasanjo can not win his polling unit and ward in Abeokuta for Obi in the coming Presidential election on 25 February, 2023.

Chief Obasanjo’s endorsement is not a political currency Mr. Peter Obi can spend anywhere in Nigeria because he is not a political force, even in his part of the country.

Chief Obasanjo similarly endorsed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party candidate in 2019 against President Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku was walloped by Buhari with a wide margin in the election.

History will repeat itself in February as our candidate Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu will equally beat Obi by a large margin.

We take a particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Chief Obasanjo said none of the presidential candidates is a Saint.

We want to state here that Chief Obasanjo is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself as the all-knowing Saint in Nigeria.

Over the years, Chief Obasanjo has also convinced himself that integrity, honesty and all good virtues begin and end with him.

Bayo Onanuga
Director, Media & Publicity
APC Presidential Campaign Council
January 1, 2023

December 11, 2022

Peter Obi Self-centred, not a leader: Parting shot of Gov. Candidate

Lasun Yusuf, Peter Obi

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in the Osun election and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun, has revealed why he dumped Labour for the PDP.

Yusuf told newsmen in Osogbo that he left the Labour Party for the PDP because the former is unserious and rather in the hands of characters who conceal their true identities.

He lambasted Peter Obi and accused him of being a pretentious character who lacks leadership qualities and is only interested in his growth and ambition.

The Labour Party is a breeding ground for political hawks, jokers and snipers who are not interested in leadership; it’s unfortunate that these characters that cluster the party are being led by Peter Obi, whom we thought was a different politician all-together, but in reality, he is a worse character.

“Obi never called or picked up my call after the governorship election in Osun State; he didn’t bother to ask how far we have gone with those who supported us in the election.

“ Most of the money we got from donors for the election has still not been accounted for or remitted. Every effort I made to reach out to the presumed leader of the party, Peter Obi, by virtue of his position as the presidential candidate, proved abortive, and I was reliably informed that he said he would not want to have any discussion with me.”

Yusuf noted that after the election, he owed debt ranging from logistics for those who worked closely for the party during the election, among others, but Obi never cared to ask questions for one day; he instead instructed Doyin Okupe and others to withhold funds donated for our election.

“Stories abound how Peter Obi is spending money for the Labour Party in his immediate Anambra State, but nothing at all is happening in any other state of the Federation; what he does is use the party name to raise funds and concentrate them on Anambra State alone, with nothing at all for other states; such actions leave us to wonder if he is running for governor of Anambra State or what.

“There’s no presence of the Labour Party in Osun State, and the few votes the party got in the last election were due to my popularity and not that of Obi or anyone else. I think it’s high time we began to tell Nigerians the truth, that the Labour Party and Peter Obi are playing pranks on Nigerians.”

The former candidate lamented that he was treated with leprosy fingers and the Labour Party in Osun abandoned while money raised for the sake of the party was rather being diverted by Obi and his cronies who are using the party to enrich themselves.

Yusuf said that and many more informed his decision to leave, saying that they are not serious and Obi is a self-centred man and treacherous politician.

Yusuf warned Nigerians as he called on Peter Obi and Okupe to account for the millions of Naira that passed through the Bank accounts provided for Osun election and how they were spent.

December 9, 2022

No Peter Obi, you cannot shift emphasis from consumption to production

Peter Obi

Interrogating Peter Obi: Part One

One of the mantras often mouthed by Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party is the promise to “Shift emphasis from consumption to production”. In his manifesto, he says he will do this by running a production-centred economy that is driven by an agrarian revolution and export-oriented industrialisation.”

I doubt if Peter Obi and his moronic followers have ever for one second reflected on this mantra as it is self-contradictory and meaningless.

A vibrant economy will ride on the twin horses of consumption and production. It cannot do without one, for it is basic economics 101 to know that production happens in expectation of consumption.

Both concepts are natural corollaries, consumption following production.

What I guess Obi means is that he will shift emphasis from ‘import dependency’ to local production of goods.

One of the drawbacks of our economy for decades has been the unbridled appetite of Nigerians for foreign goods, leading to the clogging of our ports with containers.

This has been the business of Peter Obi himself for decades, importing and warehousing cheap items, including tooth pick for the local market and for his NEXT malls.

He made fortunes and billions out of this business, that only portrays him as a saboteur of the efforts to diversify the national economy and create more local jobs.

Are Obi and his fellow merchants not aware that when they import items for sale ,they are not helping Nigeria, but only helping to create more jobs in the country where they import from?

Nigerians should not be fooled by this demagogue called Peter Obi. His promise sounds flowery, but it is fatal and hollow.

December 8, 2022

A manifesto without Action Plans is worthless

Manifesto, Peter Obi

By Iyabo Arinola Awokoya

A Manifesto without a corresponding Action Plan is not very useful. Nigerian politicians are still not getting it! We are past the days of mere Manifestos and should be in the era of ‘Actionable’ manifestos, that is; Manifestos that have correlating Action Plans.

A manifesto is simply a written statement of the beliefs, aims, and policies of an organization, especially a political party. Taken to a higher level of abstraction, a manifesto remains just a statement of intent and herein lies the quandary. We are past the stage of intentions, political parties should state clearly their plans for each lofty or not lofty intentions they have, otherwise their manifestos are as useless and worthless than the cost of the paper they are typed on.

I believe that with the development strides of the current administration in all areas of policies contained in laws and Executive Orders, there is no area where the current administration has not left an imprint.

The Buhari government has had impact on infrastructure (rail, roads, sea ports and airports).
It has had impact on Social Investment programmes that gave rise to a Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. It has impacted agriculture, with investments through the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s Programme..

The administration has also had impact in the Communications’ sector that have seen the contribution of that sector to the GDP increase phenomenally.

The government has similarly done a lot in the oil sector, with the commercialisation of the NNPC into a public Company and the intervention in the Niger Delta region that led to relative peace in 7 years etc.

Thus, it is plain puerile strategy for any political party to seek to foist on us their intentions when they can actually tell us what they will do in all the sectors mentioned above.

A serious opposition or contender for the position of the President should exhibit knowledge of the terrain, the history of the past, the present which will be a thorough dissection of where we are, that is, what has been done and then, they may then project into the future and tell us what they will do, either to advance what has been done or differently, what they will do.

Why would the opposition parties not understand this?

Nigeria requires more than lofty intentions and actors who wax lyrical. Nigeria needs people who already know the problems because they have a thorough grasp of all the issues that are prevalent, and they also have a blue print of the actions they will take to address the issues.

It is from this prism that I take serious umbrage with Papa Atiku of the PDP, who appears to be in denial of the current economic indicators of growth that Nigeria has recorded and still records as confirmed by the World Bank, IMF etc.

In my judgment, the manifesto of the APC is the only one that gives me some comfort.
First it does not paint the picture of hopelessness that the other parties paint. It is termed Renewed Hope 2023 and its introduction takes account of the past and the current and specifically promises a path to growing not against the trajectory already laid but building on it.

Atiku is stuck in antiquity of his pre-APC era. He continues to affirm the issues of old as the current issues that he will tackle. This is very curious strategy indeed, because it shows him off as being bereft of knowledge about the nation he so ‘desperately’ seeks to govern.

I also take umbrage with Peter Obi’s manifesto. It reflects a man who is throwing PVCs in medical parlance (premature ventricular contractions). These PVCs are extra heartbeats that begin in one of the heart’s two lower pumping chambers (ventricles) and that disrupt the regular heart rhythm, sometimes causing a sensation of a fluttering or a skipped beat in the chest. The 7 point Agenda of his Manifesto is in the image and for every point in his agenda, I simply have added the word “HOW” at the end?

The manifesto is lacking in how he will do any of his intentions. What does he mean by “securing Nigeria, ending banditry etc? Has the FGN not been doing this for the past 8 years? So HOW will he do this differently from what has and is being done? Without giving an inkling as to his plans, how do we evaluate him? Moving Nigeria from consumption to production: How? Restructuring ? How? Leapfrogging? How?

The curious case for Obi is that the Labour Party which he has adopted as his platform stands for everything other than what PO needs to do to fix Nigeria.

For example, the Party is anti-subsidy removal, but PO knows that this is inescapable. So, PO is in quandary, and this reflects in his manifesto. He has decided to stick with intentions.

It was frustrating to watch and hear on TV, the Deputy National Chairman of the Labour Party, Ayo Olorunfemi say that the LP is looking at implementing a new minimum wage of between N80,000-N100,000 as against the N30,000 obtainable at present. It is great that they were able to tell us the current state and project a 150% increase. It is however disappointing that there is no whiff or how this lofty intent would translate to action in a nation grappling with poverty, unemployment, high inflation etc.

I am quite disappointed that the media is not grilling these politicians. We all must be involved in asking the difficult questions as follows:

How will we increase the tax revenue in Nigeria?

How do we build our institutions to block corruption?

How do we get the youths to embrace nationalism and credible work ethics?

How do we encourage the private sector to create more jobs?

How do we break the hold that drugs have on our citizens?

How do we get our educational system right?

How do we address the issues around nationalism and those agitating for a break up.

How do we have a national ethos that every Nigerian will be proud of that will make us want to do right by Nigeria.

In my judgment, the manifesto of the APC is the only one that gives me some comfort.

First it does not paint the picture of hopelessness that the other parties paint. It is termed Renewed Hope 2023 and its introduction takes account of the past and the current and specifically promises a path to growing not against the trajectory already laid but building on it.

The APC Manifesto has been in the public domain almost since campaigns became legal.The APC manifesto touches on key sectors and gives action plans of the interventions it will make in those sectors.

My verdict is this, only one party at present takes this campaigns serious and this party is the governing party.

The opposition have had 7 years to scrutinise everything the ruling party has been doing and to be ready to give credible critique and have their plans in place. Nigeria is not an experiment. It is a country that desires and deserves a solid chance to fly on the wings of structured and sound plans.

*Iyabo Awokoya nee Fawehinmi is a seasoned development consultant and lawyer of several decades based in Lagos.

December 6, 2022

Peter Obi’s manifesto offers nothing new to Nigerians: APC PCC

Peter Obi

PRESS STATEMENT

PETER OBI’S POLICY DOCUMENT IS VACUOUS AND OFFERS NOTHING NEW TO NIGERIANS

We are glad that Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi finally released their much-awaited policy document after many contradictory statements on same.

After perusing the document which is very high on graphics and demagogic rhetorics and short on substance, we have come to the conclusion that the document is empty and vacuous.

The document which is titled ‘It is Possible: Our Pact with Nigerians’, offers nothing refreshing to Nigerians and comes across as total anti-climax. The subtitle ‘Action Plan’ was shamelessly parroted from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s manifesto.

By now, many of the gullible followers must have been utterly disappointed that their man didn’t offer them anything to be proud of after all the blusters and the initial leakage of the document, which contains, strangely, 15 pages of the biographical sketches of Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Mr. Peter Obi’s document contains no grand policy initiatives and options to excite right thinking Nigerians. It was silent about how Obi wants to achieve his high falutin objectives. Instead, it will set alarm bells ringing in the South South and North East as Obi promises to ‘engineer the transition of Nigeria from a fossil fuel dependency to climate and eco-friendly energy use”.

As expected, Obi’s document contains fallacies and false statistics.

Obi claimed China moved 740 million people out of poverty. He understated the achievement and was silent about the period it took the Chinese Communist party to achieve this. China moved close to 800 million people out of poverty and it was achieved in 40 years. This makes the present APC government’s plan to move 100 million of Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, more realistic than Obi’s rhetoric tends to suggest.

One of the fallacies contained in the document, which Obi has often repeated to his followers, is that Nigeria is a failed state. We wonder whether the Labour Party candidate sometimes bothers to check the meaning of a failed state and whether the country he dreams to govern falls into the mould of Yemen or Somalia, where institutions of government have lost total control of their societies.

Another fallacy is Obi’s claim that Nigeria recorded modest gains between 1999-2015, the PDP years, even when all verifiable evidence points to the contrary.

The Labour Party candidate simplistically diagnosed Nigeria’s problem as ‘elite capture’, which is self-indicting as he and his running mate, who he styled ‘new breed’ are members.

He claims incompetent leadership has divided the nation, playing up religious and ethnic sentiments. Another self-indictment as the hallmark of his campaign has been to jump from one church to the other, positioning himself as a ‘Christian candidate’ and inciting the church against the current APC government.

In fact, the document Mr. Obi released is a poor imitation and regurgitation of what the current APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing. If anything, the document showed him as a man without honour, credibility and character because he is promising to do all the things he has railed against and de-legitimised in the past.

We make bold to state that Mr. Obi lacks the mental acuity and rigour for the job he is asking Nigerians to entrust to him. He is surely not ready and prepared to be the President this great country deserves. And if indeed the Labour Party candidate paid for the wishy-washy document, he should ask for a refund for the following reasons:

On Security: In his document, Mr. Obi and his running mate promised to tackle insecurity, defeat Boko Haram, Bandits and other violent crimes by partnering with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. It is a pity that Mr. Obi and his party didn’t know that President Muhammadu Buhari did this within his first week in office as President in 2015 and has continued to strengthen regional cooperation. The Multinational Joint Military Task Force with headquarters in Ndjamena, Republic of Chad is an outcome of the successful diplomatic shuttle to these neighboring countries, including Benin Republic. Through the Joint Military Task Force and our gallant soldiers, Boko Haram and ISWAP have been routed out of Nigeria and permanently degraded and the whole of North East is stable. Thousands of displaced people have returned to their communities to restart their social and economic activities. Peter Obi has nothing to offer on security if he is only promising what Buhari has been doing for over 7 years. Anambra was one of the most unsecured and volatile states riddled with criminals and kidnappers when Obi was Governor for 8 years without any solution until Governor Willie Obiano came to tackle the problems head on.

On Power: In a surprising departure from his penchant for falsehood, Peter promised to continue and complete the $2.5billion FG-Siemens Power network upgrade. Nigerians should recall Peter Obi told the world that he went to Egypt on a study tour of power where he was told by Siemens that nothing is happening on the power agreement the company signed with Nigerian government. Without apologising for his lies and deliberate mischief, Peter Obi is promising in his document to continue with a project he said does not exist. What a travesty! In a show of total lack of awareness, Obi also promised to complete Dadinkowa hydropower project as part of his promise to solve electricity problems in Nigeria without knowing that same project has since been completed by the current administration of President Buhari.

On Infrastructure: Peter Obi promised to invest in infrastructure especially rail, ports, broadband, roads, airports etc. We find this laughable and a barefaced dishonesty just to hoodwink Nigerians. This is the same Mr. Obi who has launched the most vicious attacks on President Buhari for having the courage to upgrade our broken critical infrastructure. For the past 7 years, Mr. Obi’s sing-song has been that infrastructure does not help the economy and eliminate poverty. While President Buhari and the APC administration believe there can never be any meaningful economic growth without infrastructure to power it, we don’t expect, Mr. Obi, a warehouse and container economist to understand the nexus between economic growth and infrastructure. It is good that Obi has now seen the light on the social and economic imperatives of infrastructure but he can’t be trusted to do anything. There is no signature infrastructural project Mr. Obi can point to in Anambra State where he governed for 8 years.

On non-oil GDP and Widening Tax Net: We are happy that Mr. Obi admitted in his document that non-oil revenue has increased significantly under the Buhari-led APC administration and he will continue with the success. Unfortunately, Mr. Obi has no record of increasing revenue. As Governor for 8years in Anambra State, Obi could not grow Internally Generated Revenue of the state by ordinary 5% year on year. His current successor, Governor Charles Soludo attested to Obi’s mediocre performance as Governor of Anambra in his recent widely published article. If Obi could not change the fortunes of the state he led for 8years, he has no capacity to deliver on non-oil revenue for Nigeria. Only our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the record to grow revenue and significantly improve non-oil GDP because he set the standards in Lagos which the Federal government copied. Today, Lagos State is the 5th largest economy in Africa with over $150b GDP. The current APC-led Federal government has expanded the tax net in Nigeria from 10million payers in 2016 to current 41million according to the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The Buhari administration alone brought 31million new tax payers into the net from 2016 to 2021, more than what all previous governments since independence have ever achieved.

OUR POSITION

Contrary to the image of a reformer and thinker Obi and his followers have created of him, we make bold to say that the Labour Party candidate is vapid, intellectually arid, a mere impostor who only seeks to play on the emotions of his gullible followers. Mr. Obi’s policy document, if anything, has only exposed him as ill-prepared for the titanic task of governing a country the size of Nigeria. As a candidate, he has nothing new to offer Nigerians beyond hawking fake statistics and preying on the young people’s sentiments as a demagogue.

Nigerians are warned to steer clear of Obi and his party. His whole presidential ambition is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, to paraphrase Williams Shakespeare in his play Macbeth.

Bayo Onanuga
Director, Media & Publicity
APC Presidential Campaign Council
December 6, 2022

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Tag: Peter Obi