The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, has urged a supporter not to sue him over alleged refusal to declare for the 2023 presidency.

He said this in a response to a tweet by one @FakeBuhari, threatening to sue the former Anambra governor if he fails to declare for the presidency in 2023.

@FakeBuhari tweeted, “Sir, if at the end of this month and you don’t declare interest for the presidency in the 2023 election, then be ready for legal action from me. Leave #AFCON2021 for Orji UZOR Kalu, that’s his calling, not yours. Your calling is excellent economic leadership. Congrats #TeamNigeria.”

The fan had made the comment while responding to Obi’s congratulatory tweet to Super Eagles for defeating Sudan 3 -1 on Saturday in the ongoing African Cup of Nations.

But Obi pleaded with the fan to give him time to consult, saying that he had no money for a court case.

Obi, in a response to the tweet, said, “I wish I knew your real name. But the truth is, I don’t have money to spend on a court case. Give me some time.”

The politician had in October 2021 denied having hands in his campaign posters being circulated both offline and online, and on different social media platforms.

A statement made available by his Media Office and signed by Mr Valentine Obienyem, said that the office had been lately inundated with clarifications on Obi’s Presidential posters being circulated through various media platforms.

According to the statement, Obi was not in any way connected to or authorised anybody or organisation to promote such on his behalf.

It further noted that Obi was not the one to jump the gun on a matter the party was yet to give final directives.

The statement said, “As a faithful party man, Obi will abide by the final position of the party on the issue. We frown on people’s preoccupation with the next election when the situation in the country urgently calls for all hands to be on deck towards the restoration of security, eradication of poverty, creation of jobs and provision of other productive ventures for the country’s teeming unemployed youths, improving education and making health care accessible in the country.

“These are precisely what Obi is concerned with right now.”

The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 election, Peter Obi, has urged a supporter not to sue him over alleged refusal to declare for the 2023 presidency.

He said this in a response to a tweet by one @FakeBuhari, threatening to sue the former Anambra governor if he fails to declare for the presidency in 2023.

@FakeBuhari tweeted, “Sir, if at the end of this month and you don’t declare interest for the presidency in the 2023 election, then be ready for legal action from me. Leave #AFCON2021 for Orji UZOR Kalu, that’s his calling, not yours. Your calling is excellent economic leadership. Congrats #TeamNigeria.”

The fan had made the comment while responding to Obi’s congratulatory tweet to Super Eagles for defeating Sudan 3 -1 on Saturday in the ongoing African Cup of Nations.

But Obi pleaded with the fan to give him time to consult, saying that he had no money for a court case.

Obi, in a response to the tweet, said, “I wish I knew your real name. But the truth is, I don’t have money to spend on a court case. Give me some time.”

The politician had in October 2021 denied having hands in his campaign posters being circulated both offline and online, and on different social media platforms.

A statement made available by his Media Office and signed by Mr Valentine Obienyem said that the office had been lately inundated with clarifications on Obi’s Presidential posters being circulated through various media platforms.

According to the statement, Obi was not in any way connected to or authorised anybody or organisation to promote such on his behalf.

It further noted that Obi was not the one to jump the gun on a matter the party was yet to give final directives.

The statement said, “As a faithful party man, Obi will abide by the final position of the party on the issue. We frown on people’s preoccupation with the next election when the situation in the country urgently calls for all hands to be on deck towards the restoration of security, eradication of poverty, creation of jobs and provision of other productive ventures for the country’s teeming unemployed youths, improving education and making health care accessible in the country.

“These are precisely what Obi is concerned with right now.”

Source

Ahead of the 2023 General Elections, the Northern Elders Forum has said the region will support only a Presidential candidate who has the capacity to address the nation’s socio-economic and security problems irrespective of where the person comes from.

The elders say they will no longer vote for a candidate based on sentiments as they did for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, describing the incumbent as a disappointment to not only the North but the entire country.

Spokesman of the Forum, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who made the position known during a meeting of northern leaders of thought in Kaduna state on Saturday, said the North was deceived into voting in Buhari, with the hope that he will transform the country.

He, however, lamented that the North and the entire country are worse than where they were before President Buhari assumed office, as kidnapping, banditry, and high rate of poverty have become the order of the day.

While stating that the north will no longer be taken for a ride, Baba-Ahmed said both the South and North have equal rights to seek for the exalted office of the President in 2023.

He equally stressed that the North will support only a competent Presidential candidate who understands the roots and solutions to the numerous challenges confronting the country, and not a person who wants power just to fulfil personal ambition.

The Northern Elders also called on the Federal Government to postpone the planned 2022 national population census in view that the large numbers of displaced persons across the country and the likelihood of the tension and controversy the exercise could generate before the 2023 General election.

The forum advocated key reforms in the constitution and the electoral process that should be implemented to improve the quality of elections, and further urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, as this will improve the quality of elections, starting from 2023.

Source

Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has urged Nigerians not to be afraid of an Igbo presidency come 2023.

Umahi made this call in Abakaliki, the state capital on Thursday during a reception organised for him after declaring his presidential bid in Abuja earlier in the week.

The governor allayed fears making the rounds suggesting that any southeasterner who emerges president might split the nation.

He argued that Igbos have investment everywhere across the country, saying it would be impossible to think of secession when in power.

READ ALSO: Ebonyi State Will Never Be Part Of Biafra, Says Dave Umahi

“Some enemies of the South East say if we become president we will divide the country; how will we divide the country when we have investments everywhere?” the governor questioned.

Addressing the agitation for the actualisation of Biafra, Umahi said Ebonyi State will not take part in the struggle.

“First and foremost, I have been saying it, if anybody tells you about Biafra, tell them Ebonyi State will never be part of Biafra. We are not Biafra.

“We have been so oppressed and now we are finding our feet and you want us to go back? We will not. We will not,” the governor declared.

According to him, Ebonyi is better in a fair and equitable Nigeria because the state has investments everywhere and one cannot set fire to his own house.

He vowed that if he becomes president, he would further the projects of President Muhammadu Buhari and will fight the corruption in Nigeria to a standstill.

Source

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State believes the country deserves to be led by its best hands as the nation inches closer to the 2023 general elections.

He made the comment on Saturday when a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, paid him a condolence visit over the deaths of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Jimoh Oyewumi; the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Saliu Adetunji and a former governor of Oyo, Christopher Alao-Akala.

“Let me also use this opportunity to wish you well in your political quest to govern this nation,” Makinde noted during the visit. “We want the best for this country and only the best is good enough at this particular time.”

“I want to welcome you to Oyo State. We are really grateful for this visit. This is the year political parties will elect their candidates towards the election that is coming next year. So, what this had demonstrated to us is, you stood for politics without bitterness.”

READ ALSO: Tinubu Donates N50m To Victims Of Gusau Attack

The Oyo leader also thanked the former Lagos State governor for the visit.

Makinde expressed delight over Tinubu’s visit even though the move might be misinterpreted especially in view of the political season.

“We may fight, struggle for political positions but we know power can only come from God and He gives it to whomever He will like to give it to at whatever time,” he added.

“We really thank you for this visit and want to let you know that we have taken proper notice that you have risen above politics and all that is going around here to come and share with us at this moment that we are grieving. We say thank you.”

‘We Will Leave One Day’

Earlier, the former governor had commended Makinde for his leadership qualities, explaining that the loss of these prominent Oyo indigenes is a reminder that “we are just passing through and we will leave one day. But no matter how long, it is difficult to absorb the loss easily.”

“With this situation, we share in your loss. You, as the governor on the saddle of power, take responsibility for the situation here,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by Taiwo Adisa, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde.

“I want to say that we thank God Ibadan has been peaceful and not a den of violence but peaceful.”

Source

Senator Sola Adeyeye, on Saturday, said Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is eminently qualified to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari because of his competence and experience acquired over the years.

The federal lawmaker stated this at the Meena Event Centre, Kano when loyalists of the VP gathered to urge him to run.

He said, “The journey which began for our party, the APC, in 2013 comes full circle, ten years after, in 2023. It is a new dawn beckoning upon us to make history. And the new tribe intends to do just that.

“Next year, Nigerians will be summoned to make an exceptional judgment worthy of the times. The forces of history enjoin us to search carefully amongst us for a bold, brave and tireless leader with a resolve to take on challenges that may come our way. A leader with a strong vision for our nation’s future, one who has the courage to make unpopular decisions, a leader with the ability to put our times in the perspectives of history. At that supreme moment we have to get it right. I believe we have that leader in Yẹmí Osinbajo who personifies the calm river that runs deep. A decent and honorable man both in his private and public life.

“Indeed, we are faced with a number of challenges as a country, but truth be told, we have surmounted a number of them. The work of laying the foundation has taken us more time than we envisaged, but then, the fact that the critical building blocks are in place, in certain areas, is proof of progress and a sign that we are going in the right direction. We now stand at the cusp of a new birth at the most critical point in the life of our country. We are faced with the double task of deciding on which direction to go to move our country forward, and of choosing the person to lead us in that direction.

“For me, it is an easy choice to make. For millions of Nigerians, given a chance, it should equally be an easy choice to make except that many are mired in pessimism that arose from wanton betrayal by governments. For the new Tribe here gathered plus millions of our cohorts all over Nigeria, our choice is clear and simple!

“The moment has chosen for us a man that Providence has prepared for the task. The moment speaks to choosing a man who transcends all tribes, an embodiment of the new Tribe defined not by the cacophony of dialects but the symphony of our common humanity. The moment requires a man who is able to galvanise the ideals and ideas that will unfold the beckoning glory of a new Nigeria.

“My compatriots, history is encapsulated in moments. This moment of Nigerian history, has itself chosen a man and that man is Professor Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yemi Osinbajo is the man of the moment for Nigeria. He is well-grounded and adequately prepared. A tested and trusted hand, with the right temperament, the intellectual fire power, and governance ethos best suited for this moment. Yemi Osinbajo is the man for the moment. Not for his own sake, but for the sake of our country, Nigeria.

“Let me confess to a fact that all of us here already know. No Nigerian, including Yemi Osinbajo, has all the answers. Professor Osinbajo’s uniqueness is the God-given capacity to ask the right questions the answers to which must come from all of us. We the people, guided by God and inspired by a leadership that has a wholesome character, yes, even in Nigeria, leadership with integrity, shall provide the answers to the problems that have beset us for far too long.

“Yemi Osinbajo’s rise to prominence is not a fluke or a national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills — a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. Osinbajo has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times — he knows the language of reassurance and hope. Whatever Osinbajo says is carefully considered, whether in private discourse or in public fora, Osinbajo has been the voice of moderation, combining common sense and compassion on issue after issue.

“Yemi Osinbajo is the man who will lead us in the right direction, with the help of God and millions of Nigerians, the new Tribe, that have been yearning for an opportunity to side-step all the forces that have been pulling us apart, so that Nigeria can truly emerge as the giant it long should have been.

“Our country needs a Statesman who envisions Nigeria as a self-sufficient, self-sustaining, upper middle tier country in the shortest possible time. Such a person must be one with tall dreams and big ideas. That is Osinbajo. Big dreams, beautiful and noble, are the stuffs that propel heroes.

“Yes, Nigeria needs a President with the grasp, depth, fecundity, confidence, grit, and fortitude to see beyond the frightening and seemingly intractable predilections that beset us. This moment has gifted us such a man: his name is Osinbajo.”