Politics
Obi, Datti, Wives, ramp-up whistle-stop campaigns
The Labour Party Presidential campaign is being taken to another level as the Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, his Vice Yusuf Datti Baba- Ahmad and their wives, Margaret Obi and Hajiya Aisha Baba-Ahmad are in different locations across the country persuading Nigerians to join the take-back Nigeria train.
Obi-Datti Media reports that fresh from the nationwide campaigns rallies across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Obi, and his team have continued their whistle stops at strategic points.
The Presidential candidate who was back in Lagos Monday to meet with traders in various markets, and in Enugu and Nnewi on Tuesday arrived Owerri, Imo state capital on Thursday to a tumultuous reception by organic supporters of youths and traders in various markets in the city.And his Vice Datti Baba-Ahmad was at the same time leading another Obi-Datti team for a royal engagement in Onitsha, Anambra state where they met with the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe in his palace.
In Benin, Edo state, one of the front-running Obidient states, their spouses were during the engaging strategic stakeholders, the women in a frank talk on the role of women in the emerging new Nigeria.
In all the locations, the message is clear, a new Nigeria is possible and is on the way by February 25, 2023, but the people must stand out to be counted and to make it possible.
Securing and uniting Nigerians remain the top priorities if elected and they keep pushing the message. Without a secure environment, we cannot produce and without production, we cannot lift or give our youths jobs without jobs, we cannot lift people out of poverty and when people are poor and unemployed crimes and criminalities will keep rising.
In Imo, the Presidential flag bearer was again confronted with a touching show of love by the people including a nursing mother with a small baby who caught the attention of the candidate and he had to lift the baby in admiration and cheer of the crowd.
Recall that in Lagos a young teenager Alabi in a show of love had to block Obi’s vehicle just to appreciate him and in his characteristic manner, Obi prevented security operatives from forcing him out but instead met the young lad.
Obi-Datti Media reports that while the people at every location are showing love to the candidate with their organic behavior toward him, he also continued to pour out his compassionate self to them.
What Obi-Datti and their team continue to show to Nigerians is that the job of a President and Vice President of this country requires physical and mental alertness which only the duo can provide Nigeria among the lot vying for the office.
Former Governor of Delta State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential running mate in the 2023 election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okowa confirmed the news of his defection to ARISE NEWS on Wednesday following the announcement of the current governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, who also defected from the PDP to the APC on Wednesday.
The development was disclosed by Senator James Manager after a six-hour meeting at Government House, Asaba.
“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC,” Manager stated. “We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniagwu Charles, officially confirmed the sweeping political shift, attributing the decision to the need for renewed direction and enhanced governance in the state.
“There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state,” he said.
Aniagwu added that the move aimed to sustain progress in law, security, and welfare, likening the PDP to a “palm wine whose taste has changed,” necessitating a change in “drinking party”.
He further indicated that the defection was unanimously agreed upon by key PDP leaders and stakeholders in the state, with a formal public declaration expected on Monday.
“By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC,” he said.
The mass defection represents a dramatic realignment in Delta State’s political landscape and could significantly alter party dynamics in the broader South-South region, historically a PDP stronghold.
Okowa will be received on Monday by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Governor Oborevwori.
However, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), has dismissed moves by some political actors to form a coalition with the aim of defeating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, describing them as content creators.
Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, left the PDP in June 2022, citing inability to make “constructive contributions.”
In an interview with the ‘Mic On podcast’ hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, the PDP chief said, “Obi needs a bigger platform” going forward.
“Looking ahead to 2027, the PDP of Nigeria will open its processes, announce when the forms are available, and anyone who feels confident enough to contest should step forward and do so.
“If I were Peter Obi, I would return to the PDP and make a strong case for the presidential ticket. I believe he should come back to the party. This party was originally conceived in the bedroom of (the late) Alex Ekwueme; so, I don’t understand why the Igbo, along with southern leaders and other influential figures within the PDP, can’t come together and say, ‘Alright, we recognise this – here’s the ticket.”
He noted that if Obi could secure over six million votes on his own, without governors or major support, just imagine what he could achieve with 12 governors and a solid grassroots infrastructure.
“We’ve covered every region, but we have not gone to the South East yet. Still, Obi is free to make his own decisions. If his numbers and the animated energy that is following him were to follow him into the PDP and he is the presidential candidate, I can guarantee you he would take the South East, South South, the Christian North and North Central,” he added.
The PDP stalwart clarified that he was only speaking hypothetically in response to a question about possible political alignments ahead of 2027.
RECENTLY, some political heavyweights in the opposition, including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, broached talks for a coalition that would oust the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, capital, yesterday, where the APC caucus in the state met to endorse the President for a second term, Adaramodu explained that Tinubu, in less than two years, initiated programmes and policies impacting positively on the citizens.
He lauded the President for his decisive economic reforms that revitalised the country’s economy as well as his comprehensive security strategies that, according to him, addressed insecurity in the country.
The Senate spokesman said APC was not disturbed about the movement of the opposition figures, describing it as a political entertainment that would not affect the expected victory of Tinubu.
He appealed to Nigerians not to take the promoters of the coalition for 2027 seriously, but remain committed and continue their support for Tinubu in his quest to deliver his Renewed Hope Agenda for the country.
Ben Nwoye, the former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu, has resigned his membership of the party.
Nwoye announced his departure from the party during a press conference in Enugu on Thursday, citing a resignation letter addressed to the Amurri Ward chairman.
Nwoye, who served as the chairman of the APC in the state between 2014 and 2021, said the party in the south-east is plagued by “vindictive politics”.
He also cited an “irreconcilable internal crisis” in Enugu and across the south-east as his reason for quitting the ruling party.
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“With a deep sense of responsibility, I write to inform you that I hereby resign as a member of APC,” he said.
Nwoye said the Enugu chapter of the party had disintegrated beyond repair, adding that there are only two skeletal factions of the APC left in the state, each controlled by opposing leaders.
“The bunch of the broom, which we painstakingly tied together in 2013 at a time when we were called unprintable names, has loosened and permanently scattered,” he said.
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“All efforts made by the party elders to gather the broom and reassemble it have failed.
“In its current form, further attempts to reassemble the broom in Enugu state is no longer practicable.
“One of the strong men claims chairmanship by judicial pronouncement; the other claims chairmanship through arrogant disobedience of the same judicial pronouncement, aided by the silent approval of the national leadership.
“To them, the supremacy of the party is measured by how low they could go to oppress their perceived political enemies.
“These they do, without recourse to the core principles upon which APC stands—justice, peace, and unity.
“To say the least, the zonal leadership in the south-east has lost direction.”
The ex-chairman alleged that the APC national leadership has “ignored the Enugu crisis, disregarding reconciliation calls and alienating loyal members, exacerbating party conflicts”.
He added that the party’s regional leadership is not interested in expanding beyond the two states it currently controls.
“In the meantime, the national leadership of the party is basking in the euphoria of power, being the party under which the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the majority of the members of the national assembly were elected,” he said.
“The APC national leadership has therefore maintained willful blindness; hence, allowing the warring factions to self-destruct and strangulate the party in Enugu state.
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“Loyal party members calling for party unity are treated like conquered and captured political warriors.
“On the basis stated above, I engaged in extensive consultations with my grassroots followers, and I have come to the conclusion that it is time to move on.
“I am not a political prisoner. I have never been, and I can never be.”
Nwoye added that the problems in Enugu are also evident in other south-east states.
He cited the case of Anambra, where, according to him, the party leadership ignored the input of a senior figure before picking its governorship candidate.
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