Obidient Movement Is Not About My Tribe Or My Religion - Peter Obi
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, recently took to Twitter to address some concerns regarding his Obidient Movement. He emphasized that the movement is not about any particular tribe or religion, and that it is not an Igbo agenda or a plan to Christianize Nigeria.
Obi went on to explain that in the current state of Nigeria, it is crucial to take action and save the country's democracy, while also giving hope to the Nigerian youth. He believes that the Obidient Movement has been instrumental in this mission and that he plays a key role as its Focal Point.
As a staunch believer in a secular state, Obi reiterated that the movement Over 19,000 Nigerians have signed a petition calling on the United States to place a visa ban on the Chairman of Lagos State Motor Parks, Mr. Musiliu Adekunle Akinsanya, also known as "Mc Oluomo," for allegedly inciting violence against the Igbo ethnic group during the last concluded elections.
The petition, which was set up a week earlier, has already garnered a lot of support, with 19,807 signatures at the time of writing.
The petition, hosted on Change.org, alleges that Mr. Akinsanya, a powerful and influential politician in Lagos, was caught on video inciting violence against the Igbo ethnic group in Lagos during the recent gubernatorial elections. The petitioners claim that as a result of his incitement, violence was carried out against the Igbos on election day, resulting in the loss of many lives.
The petitioners are asking the US government to take action against Mr. Akinsanya, who is believed to be a green card holder in the US. They argue that since the US government claims to be against any form of disruption in democratic processes around the world, it needs to act on Mr. Akinsanya's status in the US and remove him for his contribution to the recent violence in Lagos.
Many signatories to the petition have given their reasons for supporting it. One signatory alleges that Mr. Akinsanya has a terrorist organization in Nigeria and that he sent his own children to America for protection while he killed other people's children. Another signatory accuses Mr. Akinsanya of committing human rights violations in Nigeria by preaching ethnic hatred toward the Igbos.
The petitioners are calling on the US government to revoke Mr. Akinsanya's visa and not allow him to enter the US, arguing that his efforts in vote rigging, vote dumping, and voter intimidation have destabilized democracy in Nigeria.
Many signatories to the petition describe Mr. Akinsanya as a threat to society, citing his role in inciting ethnic violence and attacks against Igbos in Nigeria. They argue that his actions have led to intimidation, harassment, attacks, ballot box snatching, and rigging in Lagos during elections in Nigeria.
Overall, the petitioners are calling for justice and accountability in Nigeria, and they are looking to the US government to take action against those responsible for inciting violence and disrupting democratic processes in the country. not promote any ethnic or religious bias. Instead, it is a movement for all Nigerians who are passionate about a united and indivisible Nigeria.
Obi's ultimate ambition is to become the President of Nigeria, with the hope of leading a country that is free from tribal and religious conflicts.
He believes that Nigeria is at a turning point and that now is the time to come together and work towards a better future.
It Has Never Happened In Nigeria’s History That A President Was Declared By 4am – Datti
Yusuf Baba Ahmed-Datti, who was the vice presidential candidate for the Labour Party in Nigeria's recent general elections, has spoken out against the way in which the presidential election results were declared.
During a session on Channels TV, Ahmed-Datti claimed that the INEC Chairman deliberately called the results at an odd time because he knew that the candidate, Tinubu, did not meet the constitutional requirement to be declared as the president-elect.
Ahmed-Datti also alleged that INEC collated the results without reference to IReV, which is a violation of INEC guidelines and the electoral act.
He explained that he and his team cried out for them to stop the collation because it was already going bad, but they were ignored.
According to Ahmed-Datti, what made the situation even more suspicious was that the INEC Chairman declared the winner at 4am, which had never happened before in Nigeria's history.
He claimed that after adjourning without specifying the time, the INEC chairman sneaked to the collation centre and announced the results.
Ahmed-Datti believes that this was an organized crime and is calling on Buhari not to participate in inaugurating Tinubu on May 29th.
He believes that it is important to follow the proper procedures and guidelines to ensure a fair and transparent election process.
Over 19,000 Persons Sign Petition to Ban ‘MC Oluomo’ from the US
Over 19,000 Nigerians have signed a petition calling on the United States to place a visa ban on the Chairman of Lagos State Motor Parks, Mr. Musiliu Adekunle Akinsanya, also known as "Mc Oluomo," for allegedly inciting violence against the Igbo ethnic group during the last concluded elections.
The petition, which was set up a week earlier, has already garnered a lot of support, with 19,807 signatures at the time of writing.
The petition, hosted on Change.org, alleges that Mr. Akinsanya, a powerful and influential politician in Lagos, was caught on video inciting violence against the Igbo ethnic group in Lagos during the recent gubernatorial elections.
The petitioners claim that as a result of his incitement, violence was carried out against the Igbos on election day, resulting in the loss of many lives.
The petitioners are asking the US government to take action against Mr. Akinsanya, who is believed to be a green card holder in the US.
They argue that since the US government claims to be against any form of disruption in democratic processes around the world, it needs to act on Mr. Akinsanya's status in the US and remove him for his contribution to the recent violence in Lagos.
Many signatories to the petition have given their reasons for supporting it. One signatory alleges that Mr. Akinsanya has a terrorist organization in Nigeria and that he sent his own children to America for protection while he killed other people's children.
Another signatory accuses Mr. Akinsanya of committing human rights violations in Nigeria by preaching ethnic hatred toward the Igbos.
The petitioners are calling on the US government to revoke Mr. Akinsanya's visa and not allow him to enter the US, arguing that his efforts in vote rigging, vote dumping, and voter intimidation have destabilized democracy in Nigeria.
Many signatories to the petition describe Mr. Akinsanya as a threat to society, citing his role in inciting ethnic violence and attacks against Igbos in Nigeria.
They argue that his actions have led to intimidation, harassment, attacks, ballot box snatching, and rigging in Lagos during elections in Nigeria.
Overall, the petitioners are calling for justice and accountability in Nigeria, and they are looking to the US government to take action against those responsible for inciting violence and disrupting democratic processes in the country.
INEC Votes N3bn to Fight Electoral Cases
It has been reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set aside a whopping N3bn to defend the results of the February 25 presidential and national assembly election, as well as the March 18 governorship and state assembly polls.
This comes in the wake of several candidates who lost in the elections filing petitions at the presidential and state election petition tribunals to challenge the outcome of the polls.
Over 100 election petitions have already been filed by aggrieved candidates and their parties across the country, with presidential candidates such as Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Solomon Okangbuan of the Action Alliance, and Chichi Ojei of the Allied People’s Movement also filing petitions for the nullification of the presidential election results.
While the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, was declared as the winner of the February 25 presidential election by INEC on March 1, the five candidates filed petitions seeking the nullification of the poll.
Election petition tribunals in over 12 states have also received petitions from National Assembly candidates who are not satisfied with the results of the just concluded elections. These states include Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Kwara, Ogun, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Lagos, and Niger states.
In some states like Ogun and Nasarawa, aggrieved candidates even protested, vowing to challenge the results of the elections in court.
This trend is not new, as INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, had previously lamented that the commission was handling over 600 cases in several courts across the federation, which relate to the conduct of primaries by political parties.
As we prepare for the 2023 general elections, INEC has earmarked N3b for the prosecution of election-related cases in its Election Project Plan.
Specifically, N2,104,965,000 has been set aside for litigation and prosecution in 2022, and N3,087,195,425 in 2023, making a total of N5,192,160,425.
It is clear that election disputes and petitions are an integral part of Nigeria's electoral process, and it is reassuring to know that INEC has made provisions for defending the results of the polls.
As Nigerians, we hope that the legal processes involved in these petitions will be handled efficiently and expeditiously, to ensure that justice is served and the will of the people prevails.
Legal Drafting
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently revealed that it has budgeted a whopping N886.2m for legal drafting and clearance in 2022 and 2023.
This news has sparked criticism from political parties, who have called for greater transparency from the electoral commission.
The breakdown of the budget showed that INEC allocated N337.4m for legal drafting and clearance in 2022, while N548.7m was budgeted for the same item this year.
However, the actual number of lawyers that will be engaged to handle the numerous election petition cases lodged at the tribunals is still unknown.
When questioned about the matter, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, stated that he did not know the number of solicitors that would be employed by the commission.
The opposition parties, including the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), have criticized the commission for the amount budgeted for litigations, saying that INEC must be above board.
Debo Ologunagba, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, has called on the media to "rise and condemn the wastefulness of INEC," questioning why the commission is spending so much on defending election cases.
He went on to criticize the conduct of the 2023 general elections by INEC, saying that the media should hold the commission accountable.
Similarly, APGA National Chairman, Mr. Victor Oye, expressed concern over the huge amount the commission proposed to spend on the defence of the election it conducted.
He called for INEC to be more responsible in the discharge of its constitutional mandate, suggesting that the money could have been better used for developmental purposes.
Overall, this news has raised eyebrows among the public, who are eager for greater transparency from INEC regarding its budgetary decisions.
Only time will tell how this situation will develop, and whether INEC will address the concerns of political parties and the wider public.
APC Spokesman
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has budgeted N886.2 million for legal drafting and clearance in 2022 and 2023 to defend itself against a plethora of election petitions and other lawsuits. This has raised concerns among some political parties, who argue that the amount is excessive and could be better spent on developmental projects.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have criticised INEC for the amount allocated for litigations, calling on the media to condemn the electoral body's "wastefulness".
The PDP's National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, expressed disappointment over INEC's conduct in the 2023 general elections and questioned why the agency was spending so much to defend election cases. Ologunagba noted that the N300 billion spent on Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) should have been enough to ensure that there were no credibility issues.
Similarly, the National Chairman of APGA, Victor Oye, expressed concern over the amount INEC proposed to spend on defending the elections. He stated that this showed that there were likely to be more election petitions in 2023 than in 2019, which was not a good development. According to Oye, INEC should be more responsible in discharging its constitutional mandate.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, disagreed with the criticisms, stating that there was nothing extraordinary in INEC's plan to defend itself against election petitions.
He maintained that it was within the right of INEC to defend the conduct and outcome of the elections, adding that the agency had legal responsibility to respond to or defend any petition brought against it.
The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, disagreed with the APC's position and accused INEC of having a war chest of N3 billion that would eventually end up in private pockets. He stated that LP and its candidates were not intimidated by the amount and were optimistic that the judiciary would do the right thing.
Abure vowed that LP would pursue its cause for justice to the Supreme Court to reclaim its mandate. He expressed hope that the judiciary would do the right thing, as the last elections were a "rape of democracy" that eroded all the gains of the evolution of democracy since 2015.
LP CHAIRMAN
In recent news, the LP chair expressed his belief that no amount of budget can stop Obi from reclaiming his mandate due to the bad cases that INEC has on its hands. He stated that if INEC had done the right thing, the APC and PDP would have been a thing of the past by now.
Despite this, he stated that they are not intimidated by whatever money the opposing parties are planning to use, as they know that the money will find its way into people's pockets instead of being used for litigation.
The LP chair further stated that INEC's lawyers take their salaries from the Federal Government, and any legal process that the commission is filing is always free, leaving him to question where the N3 billion budgeted for the commission's legal fees will go. He suspects that it is another way to steal money.
Rotimi Jacobs, a senior lawyer, expressed concern that the budget may not be enough to cover all the legal fees as INEC is a party to all the election petitions filed by candidates and their parties across the country.
He questioned whether the amount would be able to defend all the election petitions that will be filed across the country, including litigation, witnesses, and other logistics.
On the other hand, Afam Osigwe, another senior lawyer, stated that INEC is bound by law to defend the elections conducted by it, and in doing so, the commission will foot the expense of filing processes, travel expenses of their staff, and the professional fees of private legal practitioners who may be engaged to defend them in those matters.
He further stated that the sufficiency or otherwise of the budgeted funds cannot be debated, as court matters entail a lot of costs.
Overall, it is clear that the upcoming legal battles will be challenging and costly for all parties involved, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold.
