Tag: Obi

By Perpetua Onuegbu

The Obidient Movement has called for urgent action from President Bola Tinubu, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and security agencies following a viral video showing the Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Adekunle Mustapha, popularly known as Sego, allegedly threatening to kill anyone who votes against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Dr Yunusa Tanko, the group described Sego’s remarks as a dangerous precursor to electoral violence, recalling with “grief and sadness” the widespread attacks against voters, especially Labour Party supporters, during the 2023 general elections in Lagos.

The Movement accused the APC of relying on intimidation and violence rather than popular support, warning that the activities of the NURTW have long been linked to thuggery, extortion, and politically motivated killings.

It also cited a recent incident where a union leader, allegedly facing a murder charge, was caught on video assaulting a dispatch rider who later died.

According to the statement, the failure of law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of electoral violence in 2023 has emboldened such threats.

The group urged the international community to take note, stressing that the continued reign of political thuggery in Lagos threatens peace and democracy.

The Movement warned that citizens may eventually resort to self-defense if security agencies fail to act. While urging its members to remain calm and vigilant, it insisted that there must be zero tolerance for rigging, manipulation, or violence in the 2027 polls.(NAN)

‎By Majeed Ishola
‎Abuja:  The Democratic Front (TDF) has accused the former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, of resorting to half-truths again in a bid to demonise and demarket the President Bola Tinubu administration.
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‎Obi had exposed his ignorance claiming that Argentina under Javier Milei was doing better economically than Nigeria under the watch of President Tinubu, whom he said was incompetent.
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‎But in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, the group argued that economic indices showed that the Tinubu reforms have been less painful than those of Milei in Argentina.
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‎It said: “We note with profound concern the new wave of paranoia that has afflicted the former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, as he indulged in gross misuse of statistics to undermine the startling performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
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‎”Obi deliberately lied by posting Nigeria’s headline inflation at 30%, when the actual inflation rate for Nigeria is 22.22%. And also falsely claimed that Nigeria’s poverty rate was 63%, as against the actual research-based figure of 40.1%; the 63% figure was a tentative summary of an MPI report of 2022.
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‎”We also reject Obi’s blind arguments that the reported reduction in Argentina’s poverty rate from 52% to 38% indicates that Argentina is doing better than Nigeria in the rate of economic recovery.
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‎”Most appalling for us, is that he rated Argentina, which currently occupies the 3rd among the top 10 countries with the highest inflation rates in the world, higher than Nigeria, in economic growth and recovery.
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‎Despite Nigeria’s current population of 232.7 million as against Argentina’s 45.7 million, the Tinubu administration has kept 84 million individuals in employment, with a 4.3% unemployment rate, while Argentina has 13,368 million people in employment according to CEIC Data, with a 7.8% unemployment rate.
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‎”Meanwhile, Nigeria is nowhere near the top 10 countries with the highest inflation rates in the world, but Argentina is No. 3 on the list, which makes it one of the most expensive countries to live in.
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‎”As a matter of fact, 91% of households in Argentina are heavily indebted because they borrow money to buy food. Contrary to the present situation in Nigeria, where prices of staple foods have considerably reduced beyond economic forecast, on account of massive investment in agriculture by the Tinubu administration.”
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‎The group also gave an insight into what the average Argentine has had to go through under Milei’s chainsaw policy compared to Tinubu’s more pro-people policies.
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‎”In addition to this, Argentina’s economy is yet to recover from the loss of 50,000 jobs in the public sector as a result of President Milei sweeping economic reforms, something that the Nigerian President has not done in 2 years.
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‎”This has led to regular street protests in the major cities of the South American country.
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‎”Also, Argentina is currently in a debt trap, Nigeria is not. So in our view, these indicators confirm that Nigeria edges far and above Argentina, in ongoing economic reforms and development, contrary to Obi’s jaundiced opinion.
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‎”There is no doubt that the reform has also been steadily ushering in a trajectory of upward improvements in the living conditions of the citizens, through job creation, and a sharp reduction in the general cost of living, as indicated by the unprecedented crash in food prices across the country.
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‎The implementation of capital projects that are meant to uplift critical infrastructures in Nigeria in the last two years, is symbolic of the successes recorded in the implementation of pragmatic economic policies.
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‎”We urged Nigerians to regard Obi as a sinister number cruncher with a political agenda. His skills as a statistical charlatan and data fabricator, should not be construed as brilliance or competence, because they are meant to mislead the generality of the Nigerian public,” the statement added.
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By Biola Lawal

Abuja (FLOWERBUDNEWS):  The Presidency has punctured Mr. Peter Obi’s claim that he want to emulate Abraham Lincoln  by serving only one term as President, if elected as President of Nigeria.

In a post on his X handle, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’ s Special Adviser on Media and Strategy wrote:

The aspiring presidential candidate of the fledgling opposition party, must have flunked history in school.

In justifying his so-called ‘sacrosanct’ pledge to serve only one term of four years, he cited Abraham Lincoln, JFK, and Nelson Mandela as leaders he wanted to emulate.

A simple fact check by a politician who always challenges his gullible and unthinking mob to verify his statements would have revealed that he quoted the wrong examples.

Obi would have found that Lincoln, at the time he was assassinated, had finished his first term, had won re-election, and had been sworn in for a second term.

Lincoln began his first term on March 4, 1861. He won re-election on November 8, 1864, and was sworn in on March 4, 1865, before his assassination on April 15, 1865.

John F. Kennedy, who shared a similar tragic fate with Lincoln, came into office on 20 January 1960 as the 35th President of the United States. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963, before the expiration of his first term.

Nelson Mandela served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He declined a run for a second term on account of his age. Mandela, at the end of his first term as president, was 81 years old.

He decided to retire from politics rather than contest for another five-year term. Mandela’s example might be more appropriately recommended to Obi’s rival for the opposition ticket, who will turn 81 by 2027.