Politics
Payment of fuel subsidy is organised crime, says Obi
• LCCI president: Tinubu is next to address private sector in October
• Group accuses Oshiomhole of using Obi’s popularity to seek relevance
• LP candidate tells Nigerians to vote character, competence
• Okowa to Bode Goerge: Delta PDP intact, not in crisis
• Wabara meets Fintiri in Yola over Ayu
The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday, said government was behind oil theft in the country.
Obi, who was the guest speaker at the second in the series of Private Sector Economic Forum of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) for presidential candidates, asserted that it was impossible for an ordinary Nigerian to steal oil without the cooperation of government.
“Payment of oil subsidy as currently practiced in Nigeria is an organised crime. We need an aggressive production of local refining. Make resources available to ensure a private-sector led oil refining,” the former Anambra State governor advised the Federal Government.
The presidential candidate who made the remarks, while answering questions from panellists at the event, also reacted to a question on the issue of cost of governance. “I have allergies to waste,” he said, alleging that 50 per cent of the claimed subsidy being paid was ‘corruption’.
Speaking on challenges relating to high exchange rate, Obi, who said the problem was due to ‘physical recklessness’, stated that Nigeria needed to move away from being a ‘consumption to production nation’.
Another critical policy he identified to address exchange rate challenges was to stop ‘dollarisation’ of local oil transactions.
He insisted that there was need for an overhaul of the security architecture in the country, proposing multi-level policing from the federal to the community security system.
The LP presidential standard bearer, who stressed that tackling insecurity challenges was significant to economic growth, affirmed that once insecurity was adequately addressed, farmers would be able to go to farms, productions would increase and high rate of inflation would gradually reduce.
When asked how he was going to sustain institutional growth, Obi replied that he would ensure “certainty of policy”, as well as subjecting himself to public scrutiny and accountability.
On borrowing, Obi specified that there was nothing wrong in borrowing, but where the problem lied was when government borrowed to consume, stating that when borrowing is done to invest, the return would be prosperous and impact positively on both micro and macro economies.
He urged Nigerians not to vote him or any other candidate in the coming general elections based on tribe, religion or acclaimed right. Instead, he advised the electorate to vote based on trusted character, accountability and prosperous future for the country.
“Don’t vote for me because it’s my turn, Nigeria is nobody’s turn. This time, it’s the turn of Nigerians to take back their country. So, it’s not the turn of anybody. Don’t vote for anybody because of connections. Don’t believe what they say about their structure, it is the structure of criminality, corruption and looting. That is what we want to dismantle.
“What Nigeria needs is a leadership that is committed. They said 2023 election is the last bus stop, my appeal is that 2023 election should not be based on ethnicity. There is no place where poor people in Nigeria live a better life. They don’t buy bread cheaper in Kano, Maiduguri, Oyo or Onitsha.
“Poor Nigerians are suffering in every part of the country. There is nowhere in Nigeria where security is perfect, people today can’t go to Kaduna, by air, road or train out of fear. Katsina State is not safer than Oyo. Insecurity is everywhere in Nigeria. There is no tribe that has uninterrupted electricity or where unemployment is lower. The farmers in the North are not in the farm because of insecurity.
“Elections in 2023 will be based on the character we can trust. Show us your last office, where you have been to, let’s go and verify how you managed public resources,” he said.
He thanked the LCCI for giving him opportunity to speak to Nigerians, calling on Nigerians to hold him accountable on all his electoral promises, if elected into office.
Oil theft, debt burden, subsidy regime, foreign exchange, and other economic issues were core areas the forum expected each of the candidates to address ahead of the 2023 elections.
Last week Tuesday, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was the first to present his economic blueprint for post-2023. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is expected next to have his turn at the Private Sector Economic Forum.
The LCCI, which has organised the event for the past 16 years, said it was interested in the economic agenda of each of the candidates aspiring to take over the leadership mantle at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
This, according to the LCCI President, Asiwaju Michael Olawale-Cole, will enhance the choices people make at the polls.
“Beyond economic management, we understand that countries rise or fall through leadership and governance. Nigerians have another opportunity to decide who leads them in the next four years from 2023-2027,” LCCI boss stated.
Olawale-Cole stressed that the Nigerian economy has been inundated with a myriad of problems, among which are oil theft, an unsustainable subsidy regime, insecurity and a foreign exchange crisis.
Despite these challenges, he affirmed that the prospects and future remain bright for the Nigerian economy.
“Nigeria is the largest economy on the African continent with an output in the region of almost half a trillion dollars in nominal terms. The country is also hugely endowed with human and natural resources.”
While announcing that the Chamber plans to host Tinubu next month, Olawale-Cole promised that the Chamber would consider hosting other notable presidential candidates, so that it would not be accused of being biased.
MEANWHILE, a civil society organisation, Conference of Civil Society for Peace and Good Governance Initiative (CCSFPGG), has taken a swipe at the statement credited to former APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to the effect that Obi failed to tackle insecurity in Anambra, while he held sway as governor of the state.
The former Edo governor, had while speaking during the youth conference of APC in Abuja, said: “For those of you who are social media warriors, there are issues here that you need to speak to. Go to Google and look at the first six months of Governor Obiano’s administration in Anambra.
“What you will find on YouTube is Governor Obiano demolishing houses of kidnappers and those who were then referred to as Bakassi Boys.
Who was the governor when Bakassi Boys developed and who solved the problem? So, if a man could not solve a security challenge in his own state, which requires courage, how can he convince you that he will solve security challenges all over Nigeria?”
But reacting to Oshiomhole’s statement, National Coordinator of CCSFPGG, Dr Oshioke Mathew Afegbu, described the APC chieftain as a failed politician, who was trying to get into prominence using Obi’s popularity, having not only been disgraced out of office as his party’s chairman, but also rejected by the people of his home state, Edo, when he tried to impose a governor on them in the last governorship election.
“Nigerians have not forgotten that few weeks ago, Oshiomhole, who was an ardent attacker of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection bid, glaringly admitted in the face of teeming crowd in Abuja, that the APC government he helped to impose on Nigerians has failed in all ramifications and that the former President left a very good legacy for Nigeria than any other President in history. He said he had attacked him only because of political differences.
“For the records, Anambra provided security agencies with range of support, including provision of more than 500 security vehicles. Abubakar Mohammed, the former IG of Police, praised Anambra for not experiencing a bank heist in the final three years of Obi’s government due to the state’s amazing security development.
“Obi changed the local vigilante system such that neighbourhood watch organisations now collaborate with the police and are closely supervised.”
DELTA State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has cleared the air on the legal action within PDP in the state that has been misconstrued to be a destructive crisis among rank and file of the party.
Okowa said the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, entirely missed it to have said Delta as a key PDP stronghold was in crisis.
He expressed delight that Olorogun David Edevbie, who contested and came a distant second in the credible primary election of the party, sought redress over his grievance in a civilised manner in court.
He said the litigation against the winner, Sheriff Oborevwori, Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, was on alleged certificate forgery and not against his defeat or the peaceful conduct of the primary election.
His Chief Press Secretary, Olise Ifeanjika, who reacted to questions on the outburst of George, yesterday, said the chieftain goofed.
He said: “What is going on in Delta PDP is the beauty of democracy in action. There is no crisis in Delta PDP. When the legal fireworks is over at the Supreme Court, all the party faithful will close ranks and work to deliver all their candidates to retain the state for PDP, which the state is known for since the advent of democracy in 1999.”
MEANWHILE, as the crisis ravaging PDP over insistence of Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, on the resignation of the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), Aldophus Wabara, yesterday, arrived Yola and went into a marathon meeting with Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
The PDP state chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu, who confirmed the arrival of Wabara to The Guardian, said he was on his way to join the governor at the meeting.
Sources at the meeting disclosed that the BoT chairman has selected close allies of Wike to visit them and seek for their intervention.
Wabara will meet with the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, today, in Makurdi, in continuation of his search for solution. (The Guardian)
Photo: Chairman, Printing, Publishing and Allied Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Princess Layo Okeowo-Bakare (left); Principal Consultant of DRNL Consult Ltd UK, Mrs. Ronke Onadeko; President, LCCI, Dr. Michael Olawale-Cole, CON; 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi; Vice President, LCCI, Prince Abimbola Olashore and moderator of the event, Chairman, LCCI Economics and Statistics Committee, Dr. Ayo Teriba during the private sector forum on 2023 Presidential Election with Labour Party’s candidate at Commerce House, Victoria Island, Lagos…yesterday.
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has criticised the moves by a sitting President to prevent the release of records concerning his past, particularly documents relating to his educational credentials.
In a tweet, the NDC presidential candidate said he was deeply saddened by the direction in which Nigeria was heading, describing it as “profoundly embarrassing” that a sitting President would ask a foreign court to withhold records concerning his past, particularly where such records relate to matters of legitimate public interest.
Obi argued that leadership requires the courage and humility to confront one’s past rather than shield uncomfortable aspects of it from legitimate scrutiny.
“Leadership, in my humble view, demands the courage and humility to confront one’s history — to acknowledge mistakes, provide candid explanations where questions arise, and, where necessary, apologise and seek forgiveness,” he said.
According to him, true authority is strengthened, rather than diminished, when leaders accept responsibility instead of attempting to conceal controversial aspects of their past.
He said the matter becomes even more significant when it concerns educational credentials, stressing that questions surrounding foundational education, including primary and secondary schooling, should not remain unresolved or be addressed principally through legal proceedings.
“Nigerians deserve clear, credible, and verifiable explanations, especially when such had been submitted in the past,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra State governor also expressed concern about the example such conduct could set for the country’s younger generation, particularly the more than 30 million Nigerians currently in school.
He said the highest office in the land should exemplify integrity, accountability, transparency and ethical leadership.
Obi noted that an imperfect past was part of the human condition, but maintained that what mattered was the willingness to confront it with humility and honesty, apologise where necessary, make amends and, when circumstances demand, place the interests of the nation above personal ambition.
He questioned when Nigeria’s political class would fully appreciate that individual ambitions are temporary, while the nation endures.
“When will our political class fully appreciate that individual ambitions are temporary, while the nation endures?” he asked.
Obi further observed that although the Presidency is an office held for only a season, the moral standards established by those who occupy it could influence generations.
He reaffirmed his loyalty to Nigeria, stating that he had never sought citizenship of another country, even when doing so became fashionable.
“Nigeria is greater than any one person, and the integrity of the Republic must always come before the interests of the individual,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held closed door talks with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, otherwise known as the Progressives Governors‘ Forum, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Thursday’s meeting is the latest in a back-to-back series of engagements with governors and top chieftains of the party at Aso Rock to resolve the crisis trailing the controversial Presidential Campaign Council list released by the party last Saturday, August 23, 2026.
The governors marched to the President’s office shortly before 4:00pm on Thursday, after emerging from a separate session of the National Economic Council chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The consultations, which began since Wednesday, were aimed at reviewing and reworking the PCC list which has continued to generate controversy since its release.
The ruling party had faced severe backlash over the inclusion of some controversial party chieftains, particularly those currently facing corruption charges.
It was also alleged that some key sections of the party were not carried along in the drafting of the PCC list.
Multiple party sources, who spoke with The PUNCH on Thursday, said the meeting, which initially held from around 4pm to 11pm on Wednesday, could not be concluded.
Consequently, the meeting continued on Thursday after the regular NEC meeting.
As of press time on Thursday, The PUNCH could not confirm the extent of the changes made to the list.
However, sources close to the APC governors and party heavyweights said the list had been reviewed.
One of the sources said the initial list had been deleted from the party’s X handle and that a new list would be posted as soon as the President approves the deliberations at the meeting and the proposed changes.
“The list is part of the main agenda of the meeting. You can notice that the other controversial list has been deleted from the Twitter handle of the party,” a top source close to the APC governors said.
Also speaking on the list, another top party chieftain said, “Can you believe that the party was not carried along in the formation of the list? The President’s Special Adviser on Political Matters and a few persons in the Presidency came up with the list.
“You can see the backlash that has trailed it. The President is handling the matter, and it is believed that some changes will be made after the two-day meeting.”
Meanwhile, further findings by our correspondent showed that the party would double down on social intervention programmes ahead of the January 2027 poll.
It was learnt that this was part of the ruling party’s plan to reach out to Nigerians and ameliorate the suffering of the masses.
The APC had recently released the complete membership list of its 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.
As earlier reported, President Bola Tinubu will chair the council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, serving as vice chairmen I and II respectively. Senator Abdulaziz Yari was named Director-General, while Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, will serve as Secretary.
The expanded list, numbering 223 entries, adds directorates covering finance, extractive industries, education, manufacturing and MSMEs, support group coordination, faith-based mobilisation, protocol, labour union relations, special duties, stakeholders’ mobilisation, community support, digital operations, grassroots engagement, and welfare.
Following series of controversies that trailed the list, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said later that adjustments would made to the list where necessary.
Dare said the list remained valid because the campaign structure was not yet complete, with several subcommittees still to be constituted.
“As it is with every other list, there’s a room for subcommittees. Those subcommittees have not been formed, and so many other names will come into that subcommittee,” he said.
Dare also referred to a statement issued by the APC, insisting that the party had not withdrawn the list.
“But of course, there will be adjustments. The list is not cast in stone, just like every other list,” he added.
Asked whether the expected changes amounted to a review of the council, Dare drew a distinction between the two terms, saying the changes would only be made where necessary.
“Not a review, just adjustments where necessary,” he said.
Explaining the distinction, Dare said a review would amount to a broader overhaul of the existing structure.
“Review is wholesale, this is not wholesale,” Dare said.
He added that the planned subcommittees would provide room for more party members and political stakeholders to be accommodated within the campaign structure. (PUNCH)
Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said Nigeria must move from an economy driven by consumption and imports to one built around production, investment and job creation.
Obi made the declaration on Friday while outlining his economic agenda for the 2027 presidential election, saying the country had the resources, population and entrepreneurial capacity required to build a more productive economy.
He said the key question for any government should be whether Nigerians were actually becoming better off.
“Are Nigerians better off than they were four years ago? Can they afford food, education, and healthcare? Can businesses produce, expand, and create jobs?” Obi asked.
He said his administration, if elected, would place agriculture, manufacturing, agro-processing, technology, construction, energy, creative industries and services at the centre of economic development.
According to him, Nigeria must “produce more of what we consume, process more of what we produce, and compete more effectively in global markets.”
Obi said his economic plan would include improving agricultural productivity through better security for farming communities, irrigation, rural roads, storage facilities, finance and market access.
He also promised to strengthen manufacturing and agro-processing to enable Nigeria to export more finished products and derive greater value from its natural resources.
The former Anambra State governor said government must also create conditions that allow entrepreneurs to invest, employ workers and expand without unnecessary regulatory and infrastructure barriers.
He stressed that public finances would be managed with greater discipline, insisting that government spending must have clear purposes and measurable results.
“Every naira should have a clear purpose, and major public investments should have measurable outcomes,” he said.
Obi also identified Nigeria’s large and growing young population as an economic opportunity rather than a burden, saying government must invest in education, technical training and human capital to enable young Nigerians to contribute productively to the economy.
He said the country’s economic objective should not simply be growth in statistical terms, but an economy capable of producing more, creating jobs, generating wealth and improving living standards.
“The goal is not growth for its own sake, but an economy that produces more, employs more people, creates wealth, and improves living standards,” he said.
Obi, who is campaigning alongside former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, said their different governing experiences had led them to a common conclusion that Nigeria must invest in its people and manage public resources responsibly.
He urged voters to examine the records and proposals of all presidential candidates as the 2027 campaign progresses.
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