Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has declared that he is ready to lose his life while protecting his votes in the 2027 election.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Thursday, Obi charged Nigerians to prevent a repeat of the “irregularities” witnessed during the 2023 general election.

In 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to upload election results electronically due to the alleged failure of IReV.

Critics had accused the commission of hiding under the alleged failure of IReV to rig the election against the opposition.

Obi, who ran under Labour Party, and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who was candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had rejected the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as winner of the election and headed to the court.

But Tinubu’s election victory was upheld by the court.

Speaking at the event tagged: “Obi Talks Nigeria”, the NDC Presidential Candidate said those plotting to manipulate the election would fail in their mission.

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He urged his supporters to go all out and exercise their franchise on election day, saying no one would intimidate them or prevent their votes from counting.

“Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booth. If you get to any polling booth today, the highest number of officials you see is five. The average number of voters is 40 to 50. There is no way five people will intimidate 50 people.”

“This time all of us will rescue our country. Somebody said, ‘We are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m ready to die too.

“We will make sure we have coordination to ensure that such intimidation does not arise. Yes, they will try to manipulate the IReV. But let me tell you, it will not be easy this time,” he said.

“There will be so many IReVs this time. If there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch,” he said.

“By allowing them to continue, that glitch will glitch our lives. That is what we are suffering today,” Obi said.

On his part, NDC Vice Presidential Candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, appealed to voters to avoid past mistakes of not choosing competent leaders with the capacity to address the country’s challenges.

He said despite the number of states that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) currently controls, the party will still lose the next election.

“I believe that Nigerians must not make mistakes again. This is the time to get it right. And anything to the contrary, I believe people, if they make a mistake, certainly people will regret making that mistake. Because it will be too costly for the people and the country.”

“Jonathan was the president, the sitting president lost the election. I’ve given you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That was a very big mistake,” he said. (Daily Trust)

About 37 persons have reportedly died after inhaling fumes from a petroleum product at a jetty in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The incident occurred on Thursday at the Okari Jetty in the Okrika Mainland area, where youths from Okrika and neighbouring communities had reportedly gathered to load a petroleum product from an illegal tapping point.

Many others were said to be missing following the incident, which occurred in the mainly coastal community.

A source in the community told our reporter that more than 100 persons had stormed the jetty with locally made boats while a vessel was anchored at the riverside to load petroleum products.

The source said trouble started while the youths were loading the product, as a strong smell suddenly saturated the air, causing several of them to collapse.

“Many of them collapsed into the river, while others who managed to escape the scene had serious respiratory disorders and were being treated at the hospital.

“As I speak to you, over 37 bodies were identified as Okrika people, while six others were yet to be identified and many are still missing,” the source, who pleaded anonymity, said.

The Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre also confirmed the incident, saying its network of youth volunteers and human rights defenders in the Niger Delta had reported that no fewer than 37 persons suspected of involvement in illegal oil activities died after inhaling what was locally referred to as “Indorama fuel.”

The Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Dr Fyneface Dumnamene, said in a statement that the incident occurred at about midnight on Thursday at the Okari Jetty.

“According to the report, no fewer than 37 persons suspected to be oil thieves died after inhaling what is locally called ‘Indorama Fuel.’

“Many others are still missing. The incident occurred during the illegal loading of the product into a ship at a tapping point,” he said.

Dumnamene said the victims had connected a pipe to a tapping point on a pipeline that transported petroleum products from the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical through the Port Harcourt Refinery to vessels that reportedly came every two weeks to load products for export.

He added that the youths inhaled the product while a vessel was loading and they were simultaneously loading it into their waiting boats from the illegal tapping point.

“This led to the death of not fewer than 37 persons. Many are still missing, and some corpses have been seen floating on the river but have not yet been recovered,” he stated.

Dumnamene called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency to immediately conduct a joint investigation visit to the site of the incident.

He also urged the company that owned the vandalised facilities to provide adequate security for its pipelines to prevent a recurrence.

The YEAC-Nigeria boss condemned the alleged sabotage, warning youths to stay away from oil and gas infrastructure because of the dangers associated with high-pressure pipelines.

He also called for alternative livelihood opportunities for youths in the Niger Delta, including the establishment of modular refineries and the legalisation of artisanal refining.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed the incident and said the victims were reportedly attempting to steal crude oil.

Agabe, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said no official complaint had been lodged with the command but added that an investigation had commenced.

“The suspects reportedly died in the process of attempting to steal crude oil. However, no official complaint has been received in connection with the incident at this time.

“Investigation is ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and ascertain the facts,” the police spokesperson stated.

However, the Commander of the Civilian JTF in Okrika LGA, Igwe Godswill, gave a different account of the incident, saying the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products that had spilled into the river when they were allegedly overwhelmed by fumes from a vessel loading products at the jetty.

Godswill described the incident as tragic, saying most of the victims were youths searching for means of livelihood amid a lack of employment opportunities.

“It is so pathetic that this incident is happening in our community. These are young guys who have gone to search for their daily bread, only for the fumes from the fuel that was pumped to kill so many of our youths under the bridge.

“Many of them were choked to death. These are not criminals or anything, but they went out in search of their daily meal. I am advising the community, the leaders and every other person that we need legitimate jobs in the community.

“These things are risky, but when you cannot feed your children, most times, those risky jobs become the only option,” Godswill stated.

He explained that the victims had gone to scoop petroleum products floating on the water when they were overcome by fumes from a vessel loading petroleum products at the jetty.

Godswill, however, said about 10 bodies had been recovered, adding that only some of the victims could be identified because of the condition of their remains.

He said, “We saw about 10 of them. Four were still unrecognisable, while four persons were identified. The rest could not be identified because their bodies were badly damaged and their faces were severely affected.”

The Civilian JTF commander called on the Rivers State Government, community leaders and other relevant authorities to create employment opportunities for youths in the area to discourage them from engaging in dangerous activities.

“I am calling on the relevant authorities, community leaders, the chairman and every other person to look into this. It is not enough to stop them because, yes, it is a risky job, but they should create jobs for the youths so that everybody will have something to eat.

“Something that can put food on the tables of these young men, the youths and every other person. I can tell you for free that it will not just stop because when that source is the only livelihood, people will still go there.

“Even as of yesterday, people still went there, despite the fact that we had confirmed that people had died from the same activity. So, we are calling on the leaders to look into it and see how they can create job opportunities, especially for the youths,” Godswill added. (PUNCH)

By Sunny Igboanugo

For sometime now, one Basil Ogbuanu, said to be a Lagos-based businessman, has been up and about dragging the name of Senator Jim Nwobodo and his wife, Patricia. In issue is a piece of land at an estate owned by the former Governor of old Anambra State.

I hear the matter is already in court, where both parties are trashing the issues, some of them, of criminal dimensions. That is not my concerns. Both have their lawyers to do what they are paid – canvass the arguments around the res.

But here is the thing. Since the matter came to the fore in the public space, I’ve heard a number of people ask one critical question – what is Nwobodo doing with land at this time and stage of his life?

This question is as legitimate as it is germane. For one, the former governor, former Minister and Senator representing Enugu East between 1999 and 2003, is supposed to be relaxing in his Amaechi country home in Enugu State or any other place of his fancy, counting the tea leaves.

Perhaps, the only source of worry at this time, as an elder statesman, and by right, one of the fathers of the nation, might be the parlous state of affairs in Nigeria, whose history he played a central role in trying to shape as one of the highly recognisable political faces.
But, outside that he ought not have further worries. His schedules these days ought to be hosting visitors trooping to his home, giving counsel and generally guiding the country to get better.

I watched Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the late Owelle of Onitsha, play this role. As a journalist, working with The Guardian in Enugu, there was no week I didn’t escort one dignitary from across Nigeria and beyond to the Onuiyi Haven, Nsukka abode of the late sage, returning back with a bag-full of both good stories for my organisations and other goodies, including fresh editions that flowed from his legendary storehouse of jokes and historical tales.

So, when this current saga broke and many people began asking this question, they were right. Jim, as he is popularly called, is not supposed to be found in any sort of controversies, let alone court one himself.
But, that in itself, is the problem. By what I could glean from this saga, two elements inform the Senator’s contestation. One of them is to preserve his name and the second is to protect his wife. These are the two most precious essentials in his life as of today.

Now, anyone close to him or the family, is aware that the former governor doesn’t joke with his wife. For him, it is a no-go area. Anyone who doesn’t want to see his red eyes should avoid going after madam.
So, Ogbuanu, by including his wife in his current offensive, seems to have touched the axiomatic tiger’s tail. Part of the issues that went to the Enugu high court, I hear, has to do with the alleged clash that led to the alleged physical detention of madam in the estate by alleged Ogbuagu’s workers.

On the second issue, seems his apparent determination not to bend the rules or cut corners, or throw his weight around even as the current undisputed “father” of Enugu State over the land issue, seems not to help matters. In fact, it’s at the heart of the matter.
He narrated how he bought this piece of land in 1976, three years before becoming governor, intending to use it for a hotel project, only to abandon the idea after joining politics.

Some years back, he decided to carve it into an estate. Ogbuanu was among those who bought into it. But there was a snag. The law used to acquire the land was the lease system, before the Certificate of Occupancy system introduced in 1978. So, to legitimise the status, he applied to the land authorities for a change.
Now, this was supposedly the genesis of the problem. Nwobodo, maintained that he directed all those who bought into the estate to wait till the right papers were secured before they could start building. But Ogbuanu, unlike others failed to comply.

Now, two things resulted from this. The estate is said to occupy a small area. Nwobodo said his intention was to transform it into an exclusive ambience – a quiet environment with ornamental trees and flowers with prototype structures. This idea, he said was the main attraction to those who bought into it.

But, again, Ogbuanu, reportedly defied the agreement. In total violation of the concept of the estate, he was said to have commenced building student hostels, as opposed to the model structures, thereby defacing the originally planned ambience.

This triggered off other land owners, who totally scandalised, threatened to pull out. Yet, Ogbuanu, reportedly remained adamant when reminded of the development and the need to keep to the originally agreed terms. He was even said to have also defied a stop-work order by land authorities, who marked the buildings for removal.

On the other hand the businessman, is claiming that he obtained all the relevant papers from the Senator authorising him to commence building and that he was not violating any law.

From the following one fact is established – there is an existing deal. Nwobodo is not denying this fact. Now Ogbuanu is accusing the Senator of demolishing his structure, which he denies. On the other hand, Nwobodo, is insisting on returning Ogbuagu’s money, which he flatly refuses. Therein lies the stalemate.

It is only the court that can decide who is wrong or right here. Hopefully, it will soon.

Outside this, and without joining the fray, I’m on all fours with the Senator. He is well within his right to take steps to protect his family and his integrity. Only an omonile – the ubiquitous criminals parading major cities as land speculators, are in the habit of selling lands to their victims and moving to collect them back by other means.

Isn’t this the community reading any critical observer would make of Ogbuanu’s allegation? Or what else would he adduce for calling the Senator out, outside practically imputing some omonile behaviour to him, which amounts to bespattering the Senator with the paintbrush of infamy?

So, in the main, it is not about land or money per se. It’s about what Shakespear meant when he wrote some 600 years ago – the purest treasure mortal times afford is a spotless reputation. That away, men are but gilded loam or painted clay…My honour is my life, both grow in one. Take honour from me and my life is done.

So, if at 86, Nwobodo loses everything, including witnessing a robust, thriving Nigeria, he once experienced before the years of the locust took over – if the dreams of witnessing once again in his lifetime, a Nigeria flowing with milk and honey evaporates – he must not be blamed for clinging to and protecting the true treasure every man ought to live by or die for – a spotless reputation.

That is the crux of the matter here.