…unleashes NDC Presidential Candidate’s performance record

The Peter Obi Media Office has defended the presidential ambition of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, Peter Obi, arguing that his claim to the preside’cy is based on his record ’n Anambra State and experience in business and financial management rather than political patronage.

In a statement issued yesterday, Sunday, September 13, 2026, and signed by Idris Zekeri Jnr, Peter Obi Media Office, the office said It was responding to what it described as arguments by supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Obi was overhyped and that his popularity and political ratings were overrated.

The Media Office said Obi’s record in Anambra State provided a basis for assessing his capacity to govern at the national level, noting that he had managed a state before seeking to manage the country.

“Peter Obi managed a state before seeking to manage a nation. He served as Governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, with interruptions arising from the political and legal battles surrounding his tenure. He eventually won re-election in 2010, completed his second term, and emerged as the best-performing state governor in his time,” the statement said.

According to the Media Office, one of the strongest elements of Obi’s governance record was fiscal discipline, citing what it described as substantial savings and investments accumulated during his tenure as governor.

It said Obi’s 2023 manifesto recorded approximately $500 million in investments and savings, including $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds.

The office argued that the record demonstrated that government could preserve financial resources rather than simply spend available funds.

“He showed that government could save rather than merely spend. This is perhaps one of the clearest contrasts in his political message: leaving substantial financial reserves behind after leaving office. The record presented in his manifesto includes local and foreign currency savings and investments,” it stated.

The Media Office also highlighted education as a central part of Obi’s record, saying his administration returned mission schools to their original owners and established partnerships with them.

It said Obi’s manifesto reported that Anambra subsequently moved from 24th to first position in WAEC/NECO performance for three consecutive years.

Beyond infrastructure, the office said Obi’s administration invested in scholarships, education, healthcare and poverty mapping, describing the approach as one that placed human capital at the centre of development.

“He invested in human capital rather than only physical projects. The record includes scholarships, support for education, healthcare investments and poverty mapping—an approach consistent with the argument that development is ultimately about improving people’s productive capacity,” the statement said.

The Media Office also cited healthcare investments during Obi’s tenure, saying his administration invested in health institutions and accreditation.

According to the statement, more than 12 health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation by the end of Obi’s tenure, compared with none at the beginning.

It further pointed to Obi’s engagement with international development organisations, including the World Bank, UNDP, DFID and the European Union, as well as diplomatic engagements with foreign governments.

The office said Obi’s administration also introduced poverty mapping, aerial mapping and planning initiatives and developed the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS) as a framework for coordinated development.

It added that Obi’s experience before entering politics, including his career in business and banking and senior roles in the financial sector, gave him a combination of private-sector, financial-management and public-sector experience.

The Media Office argued that Obi’s presidential case should therefore be judged against his record in office rather than solely against campaign promises.

“Peter Obi is not asking Nigerians to make him President so that he can learn how government works. He is asking Nigerians to entrust him with Nigeria after demonstrating, as Governor of Anambra, how he manages money, builds institutions, invests in human capital and plans for the future,” the statement said.

The office maintained that the former Anambra governor had left behind a record that Nigerians could examine in assessing his suitability for the presidency.

It said the question was therefore not whether Obi had been politically promoted, but whether his previous record justified the ratings and popularity he currently enjoyed in the political space.

At least two newly deployed Mobile Police officers attached to Ayilamo community in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State have been killed after they were ambushed by armed invaders.

Our correspondent reports that the incident occurred at about 6pm on Monday while the officers were on their way to escort the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ayilamo, who was returning to the community from Makurdi.

The incident brings to six the total number of policemen killed in Ayilamo within three days, following Friday’s attack, which claimed the lives of four Mobile Police officers and seven civilians in the community.

Although the identities of the slain officers were not immediately disclosed as of the time of filing this report, the deceased personnel were reportedly attacked along the route while making their way to meet the DPO, who was returning to Ayilamo after his trip to Makurdi.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Peter Aondongu, confirmed the incident to journalists in Makurdi on Tuesday by telephone.

Aondongu said the DPO’s entourage was ambushed on its way back from Makurdi to Ayilamo, confirming that the incident involved an attack on police personnel.

The PPRO admitted that the incident claimed the lives of two policemen.

Residents of the area also told newsmen that the attackers were suspected to be armed invaders operating from forests and deserted villages within Tombo Council Ward of Logo LGA.

The residents also expressed concern over the alleged movement of armed men through forests and abandoned settlements in the area, calling for sustained security operations to prevent further attacks. (Daily Trust)

President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has attributed the high price of petrol in Nigeria partly to the continued smuggling of the commodity to neighbouring countries where it sells for significantly more.

Dangote said petrol prices in neighbouring countries were between 30 and 50 per cent higher than in Nigeria, arguing that the price difference creates a strong financial incentive for traders to move petrol out of the country.

He stated this in an interview aired on Arise TV on Tuesday while speaking about petrol prices and the availability of the product amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Explaining why Nigerians may perceive petrol as expensive despite the country producing the commodity domestically, Dangote said the price could not be considered in isolation from the prices in neighbouring countries.

“You know, expensive is relative. In the sense that today, maybe, you know, a lot of them, there’s ignorance also. What they need to do is ask, what is the neighbour’s price?”

He said the continued movement of Nigerian petrol across the borders was partly driven by the significant difference between domestic prices and those obtainable in neighbouring countries.

“I don’t know if you know that there’s still a lot of smuggling of the same petrol we are producing to our neighbouring countries.”

The price gap means that petrol bought in Nigeria can potentially be resold across the border at a substantial premium.

Dangote said this creates an incentive for smugglers to divert petrol meant for the Nigerian market rather than sell it domestically.

“Because those neighbouring countries are about 30 to 50 per cent more expensive than Nigeria. So, it’s not actually like for like.”

Dangote specifically cited Niger, where he said petrol was selling at a premium of between 20 and 25 per cent compared with Nigeria.

He used the example to illustrate why the border trade could be financially attractive, particularly when the price difference is large enough to provide an immediate return on the commodity.

“And people can now go and ask, okay, fine, what is the price of, even now at N1,350? Okay, the price in Niger is 20 to 25 per cent more than Nigeria,” he said.

He questioned what other legitimate business could provide such an immediate return.

“So, what business are you going to do that will make you have an instant 25 per cent return?” he asked.

Dangote further explained how petrol intended for domestic distribution could allegedly be diverted towards the border for sale to buyers in neighbouring countries.

“So, it means that, yes, you take the [petrol], you go and take it across the border. You pretend you are taking it to Sokoto, you go and just take it to Ilela, and you sell.

“Actually, they don’t have.”

The implication, according to Dangote, is that a product that should remain available to Nigerian consumers can be moved out of the country because of the higher prices obtainable across the border.

Beyond the issue of price, however, Dangote said the current crisis in the Middle East could pose a different challenge to the Nigerian downstream market.

He warned that the major concern could shift from how much petrol costs to whether sufficient volumes would be available to consumers.

“And the problem now, going forward, I must also warn that this crisis in the Middle East is not even about price; it’s about availability,” Dangote said.

The comment comes against the backdrop of concerns over how developments in the Middle East could affect global energy markets, including the availability and cost of petroleum products.

Asked whether Nigerians should be worried about petrol supplies, Dangote said the Dangote refinery was prepared to continue meeting domestic demand.

“We will deliver to Nigeria. Nigerians don’t need to worry. There will not be any shortage from our own part.

“There won’t be any shortage. There will not be any queues. We will make sure that we keep satisfying the market, despite all odds,” Dangote added.

The remarks came as investors flooded the Nigerian Exchange on Monday following the opening of the initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

The N2.15tn IPO was formally opened during the opening gong ceremony at the NGX trading floor in Marina, Lagos, with Dangote sounding the gong to mark the commencement of the offer.

The refinery became the first petroleum refinery to be offered to investors on the Nigerian stock market in the Exchange’s 66-year history.

The IPO comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares offered at N525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at N5,250.

The offer is open to retail, institutional and eligible African investors and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026.