Politics
Obi mocks Tinubu: How can you rule Nigeria without identity? A sick Nigeria must avoid a sick President
“This country is sick and should not be handed over to a sick person. I am not saying that anyone is sick. We have been here for over two hours; we don’t want people who can’t stand for 30 minutes.”
These were the words of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), with which he tried to rouse the Nigerian people ahead of the 2023 election, and to get them to vote the right people that would lead the country, especially at the presidential level.
Describing himself as the best among all the candidates contesting, Obi told his audience on Thursday during an interaction with students and stakeholders at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) Business School in Enugu, ahead of his presidential campaign in the state that the job of the President required full physical and mental alertness.
Stating that the nation’s number one job, also required quality character and competence, which could not be found in those who dodged a common debate, an opportunity to engage with the people and marshal out their programmes, he said the natural consequence of such a failure was rejection at the polls.
In obvious dig at Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who have been challenged over his identity details, Obi, added: “In the United States, during election, they go for debates. Somebody once asked Barack Obama questions that are personal and he answered. But here in Nigeria, somebody wants to contest election, we don’t know his real age; we don’t know his name; we don’t know the schools he attended. Nobody knows his real identity and he is pushing to lead everybody.
“My name is Peter Obi. I can say I went to CKC, went to University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Both the VC today, the DVC today, these are my school mates. We came into university the same year and left the same year.
“The people I went to school [with], I can see them here today — my seniors and my juniors. How come we now have people who do not have classmates? This is very important.
“If you said you will fight corruption, let’s go to the road you have passed and see what is remaining there after you left. This year’s election must be based on competence as it requires physical and mental energy, not a retirement job.”
Apart from Tinubu, allegedly suffering some serious ailments, which had made him manifest some uncanny tendencies, even at rallies, Atiku, had also been challenged on his health status, with Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Aviation, alleging that his current trip abroad had much to do with seeing his doctors in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) than the official explanation that he was invited to London to meet with officials of UK government.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, on Monday killed the attempt by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic (PDP) and Peter Obi, his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, both presidential candidates, respectively in the February 25 election to get Nigerians watch the proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, currently sitting in Abuja, live.
The court court, ruling on the plea that originated from the former Vice President, who had argued that it would give integrity to the process and was later joined by Obi, in a unanimous ruling, held that the application was without merit, adding that televising court proceedings is not provided for in any extant law in the country.
Tsammani, Chairman of the five-man panel of Court of Appeal Justices, sitting as PEPT, who read the lead ruling, while adopting the arguments of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, his All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared him winner of the election and which also railed against the move, agreed that it would not make the outcome of their decisions any cleaner.
To him, the court sitting in public did not mean that it should sit in a stadium or in marketplace and that there was no way televising the proceedings could advance the interest of fair hearing for parties or advance the interest of the petitioners in relation to issues raised in their petition, adding that granting the request by Atiku and the PDP could trivialise the serious business of the court.
Orji Uzor Kalu, former Governor of Abia State and current Chief Whip of the Senate, may be kissing his quest to lead the National Assembly in Nigeria by becoming 10th session Senate President goodbye, if the attempt to strip him of his All Progressives Congress (APC) identity succeeds.
Kalu, seen as one of the front runners for the nation’s number three citizen, was among the party stalwarts suspended by the ruling party on Thursday, alongside Ken Nnamani, former Senate President, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Sullivan Chime, former Governor of Enugu State.
Alongside former Speaker of Enugu state House of Assembly, Hon Eugene Odo; Director General Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu and former Commissioner in Enugu state, Joe Mammel, the APC bigwigs, who had earlier been slammed with their fate shortly after the 2023 general elections, had their suspension sustained by the party’s South East caucus.
The ratification of the suspension of the chieftains from Enugu and Abia States, who were initially slammed for allegedly engaging in anti-party activities, according to the APC Zonal Secretariat came after South East Executive Meeting on April 16, 2023.
Ijeomah Arodiogbu, National Vice Chairman (South East), who gave the reason for the action, as the need to enforce discipline in the party, in order to strengthen APC in the zone, listed other names to include: SA to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Flavour Eze, former chairman of the party in the state, Ben Nwoye; former deputy state chairman, A. C. Udeh; Obodoeze Ocho; Chukwudi Igwe; Kingsley Uduji; former Military Governor of the state, Joe Orji; Maduka Arum (A.K.A Mama) and Chidera Obed.
Others suspended alongside Kalu in Abia, included Sam Nkeire, Uche Sampson Ogah, former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Senator Nkechi Nworgu, amongst others.
Ezeanyawu Michael, spokesman of the party in Enugu State, while stating that it was the right thing to do, said: “I want to further use this opportunity to call on the APC leadership, at both the state and national levels, not to relent in its efforts to rid the party of saboteurs.”
Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, on Monday emerged from a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock villa in Abuja, with a definite message to Nigerians – I will introduce something new, if elected as the new Senate President.
Akpabio, who left as the Minority Leader after losing his return bid in 2019 to take up appointment as Minister of Niger Delta, flaunted his credentials as governor, where he claimed to have made significant contributions to infrastructure, stating that he would be an “uncommon transformer” as the head of the nation’s legislature.
He told State House Correspondents after the meeting: “It is well known that Akpabio is a results-driven individual. You will remember that when I was a governor, I made significant contributions to infrastructure, education, social issues, and human empowerment.
“I intend to bring a lot of reforms into the senate, in the ways and manners we do business, to assist the next administration to succeed. We will be very thorough in doing everything; we’ll bring about loyalty to the constitution.
“The restiveness that we are seeing across the nation, we’ll do our best to make good laws and to assist the administration to bring about policies that will empower the youths of the country. I made that promise even on the convention day that being a man who used to turn boys into men and who still does, that I will like to work with the incoming president, who has also shown that example in Lagos state as a governor and thereafter as a leader of the APC in Nigeria.
“So, the youths are in for a very good time, in terms of empowerment, there will be no time for slacking and we’ll restrict a lot of them from being lured into criminality, into brigandage and all that.”
BREAKING: All clear for Tinubu! S’Court dismisses PDP’s double nomination suit *Says, PDP a busy-body
Nigerians must allow the love they share abroad resonate at home – Obasanjo
Uproar, social media exchange of fire, over Ooni’s handshake with Pete Edochie, KOK
In the military, INEC boss and his team would be executed – Bode George *Why put Tinubu’s boy in charge of IT?
I’ve paid a price for joining Obi to rescue Nigeria – Datti-Ahmed *Weeps on TV
BREAKING: Sorry, you can’t contest 2023 election, Atiku tells Tinubu
