The Peter Obi Media Office has outlined its principal’s core agenda as campaigns for the January 16, 2027 presidential election officially commence today, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

In a statement issued earlier today and signed by the POMR spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, the media office said that the 150-day campaign period would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to assess the candidates, their records and their visions for the country ahead of the election.

It introduced the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Gregory Obi, as the “Candidate of Conscience.”

The statement described Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, as a politician whose public identity is associated with integrity, frugality and accountability.

According to the media office, the Obi campaign is centred on a vision of moving Nigeria “from consumption to production”, while reducing the cost of governance, strengthening education and healthcare, improving security and creating opportunities for young Nigerians.

The statement said Obi’s political appeal was not based on ethnicity, religion or regional affiliation, but on what it described as competence, capacity, character, compassion and commitment.

It further urged Nigerians to use the campaign period to scrutinise the records and policy proposals of all presidential candidates rather than being swayed by campaign slogans and political sentiments.

“For us in the Peter Obi Media Office, these 150 days are crucial because they mark a journey that will culminate on January 16, 2027, when Nigerians decide not only who becomes president but also what kind of nation Nigeria will evolve into,” the statement said.

The media office framed the election as a contest between what it described as the country’s longstanding problems of waste, division and broken promises and an alternative centred on competence, accountability, productivity and hope.

It said Obi would ask Nigerians to judge him by his record, ideas and character, rather than by his ethnicity, religion or political connections.

The statement also highlighted Obi’s record as governor of Anambra State, particularly his emphasis on education, healthcare, infrastructure and fiscal responsibility, while presenting these as indicators of the leadership approach he would bring to the presidency.

“Governance is neither a personal inheritance nor a reward for political loyalty,” the statement said, adding that leadership should be earned through “verifiable competence, character, and measurable outcomes.”

The media office consequently called on voters to listen to all presidential candidates and evaluate their records, ideas and capacity to address Nigeria’s economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment and institutional challenges.

As the campaign begins, it said the central issue should be the kind of Nigeria voters want to build rather than primordial political considerations.

The statement concluded with a direct appeal to Nigerians to listen to Obi and consider his vision for the country.

“Let the campaign begin. Let the people decide. And let Nigeria choose hope over fear, competence over propaganda, and conscience over convenience,” it said.

A Nigerian national has been arrested in Vietnam after authorities allegedly found 2kg of suspected crystal methamphetamine and two suspected bricks of heroin concealed in a consignment from Laos.

VietnamPlus reported on Monday that the drugs were discovered at the Lao Bao International Border Gate in Quang Tri Province after customs officers detected suspicious images in a consigned package during a scan.

The report said the case was uncovered at about 8:30 pm on August 5 when customs officers were inspecting road vehicles entering Vietnam from Laos through the border gate.

“Customs officers detected suspicious images in a consigned package using scanning equipment,” the report stated.

A subsequent physical inspection reportedly revealed that the drugs had been concealed inside electric water heaters and electronic components “used as disguises.”

The discovery raised suspicions of transnational drug trafficking, prompting the Customs Sub-Department of Region IX to assign its customs control team to lead the investigation.

The team also coordinated with the Lao Bao International Border Gate’s customs branch, the drug-related crimes investigation police division under the Quang Tri Police, the anti-smuggling investigation sub-department and the provincial Border Guard.

According to the report, the agencies worked together “to identify and locate the recipient” of the consignment.

“After several days of tracing the consignment across multiple locations,” law enforcement officers arrested Izuchukwu Calistus Odionye, a Nigerian national born in 1983, on August 9 in Ho Chi Minh City while he was receiving the package.

The suspect reportedly admitted that the package contained drugs.

Odionye told investigators that he “had been hired to receive it in Ho Chi Minh City and transport it to Hanoi,” according to the report.

The Vietnamese authorities have since expanded the investigation to identify other people allegedly involved in the case.

“The investigation has been expanded to identify other people involved,” the report added.

Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, has been released by the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force after almost 24 hours in detention.

Adejoorin was arrested in Ilesa on Saturday after a shooting in the Isokun area of the community left three people injured.

At least three people were reportedly injured during a shooting in Ilesa, Osun State, on Saturday, when members of the Ilesa West Local Government Area chapter of the All Progressives Congress held a street rally.

One of those injured was identified as Tobi Ilesanmi, a 14-year-old boy, who was reportedly shot near the scene of the incident around the Isokun area of Ilesa.

The incident, however, has led to a blame game between the APC and the Accord Party, following the arrest of the Osun State Commissioner for Environment, Mayowa Adejoorin, who was said to be passing through Ilesa after the crisis.

Adejoorin was reportedly arrested by the police and brought to the headquarters of the Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force in Osogbo, the state capital.

Speaking on the incident in a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Saturday, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, stated that three people were injured during the shooting, alleging that the incident was perpetrated by operatives of the Amotekun Corps who were conveyed in a vehicle bearing an official Osun State Government number plate.

“Three persons are confirmed injured, and they were taken to different hospitals. From the reports we have, they were shot at the rally scene. There was a rally in some part of Ilesa by the APC.

“The rally was on when they discovered a vehicle parked beside them bearing a particular plate number, OSHAO4, and some people identified as Amotekun personnel came out of the car and shot sporadically, and everybody ran for safety.

“So some brave men among those that were doing the rally chased those Amotekun personnel passengers. The one they were able to catch drew out a knife and tried to stab anyone who came close to him, and he used that opportunity to escape,” he said.

He added that after the matter was reported to the police, some operatives of the Intelligence Response Team stationed close to the scene responded to the distress call.

Ojelabi further explained that the IRT operatives, on their way to the scene of the incident, saw Adejoorin’s vehicle passing and stopped him.

“We already have our tactical teams on the ground. We have over four IRT tactical teams on the ground posted to different locations. So the IRT that was closer to that place responded to that incident. On getting to the scene, they saw a vehicle that was approaching them, a white Lexus 350.

“On intercepting the vehicle, they saw an Amotekun personnel in the vehicle. So they apprehended the vehicle, the personnel and one other person in the vehicle. They brought them straight to the headquarters here. On interrogation, it was discovered that the other occupant is Honourable Mayowa Adejoorin.

“So they brought them to Osogbo for questioning to know the level of involvement in this incident because the exhibits recovered at the scene of that shooting are four expended cartridges, and the gun recovered from the Amotekun is a pump-action gun. So the investigation is ongoing,” Ojelabi said.

But while addressing journalists on the incident, the Head of the APC Campaign Council for Ilesa West, Folarin Fafowora, explained that the rally was about to be concluded when the incident occurred.

Fafowora said, “We were almost rounding up when, suddenly, a car overtook us. The occupant of the car was the Chief Whip of the Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Wale Akerele. I was even surprised that people were embracing him, but before I could know what was happening, there was a gunshot. To my disbelief, people started running here and there. I couldn’t believe it.

“Then he left, and people immediately started scrambling for safety. As we got to the roundabout around the Isokun area, the panic and confusion among the people had really disrupted the rally.

“From nowhere, they suddenly came out of the vehicle and started shooting. In fact, I had to hide to avoid being hit. By the time I regained my consciousness, hell had already been let loose. But somehow, because of the Amotekun vehicles that were escorting him, he disappeared almost immediately. It was very shocking. The policemen were there when he came back, while they were shooting. He was being protected by the Amotekun personnel, and they were also shooting.”

Efforts to reach Akerele by our correspondent failed, as calls did not go through to his line, while a response to a message sent to him via WhatsApp was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

However, the spokesperson for the Imole Campaign Council, Pelumi Olajengbesi, while reacting to the allegations against Akerele in a chat with journalists on Saturday, said, “The video of Ilesa shooting is all over the place. Members of the APC were shooting in the name of the rally, destroying properties that belong to the Accord members. They destroyed the Accord Party secretariat, and the videos are all over the place.”

Giving an update on the arrest on Sunday the Public Relations Officer of the Osun Police Command, Ojelabi, confirmed the release of Adejoorin.

Ojelabi could not, however, confirm if the Amotekun operative arrested with Adejoorin had been released.

When asked if Adejoorin had been released, Ojelabi simply said, “The commissioner has been released. He was released today but the Amotekun that was arrested with him, I can’t confirm his release yet because I am still gathering my facts.” (PUNCH)