Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has felicitated with the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on the auspicious occasion of her 66th birthday, celebrating her as a remarkable example of devotion to nation building.

According to a government house statement in Osogbo on Monday, Gov Adeleke notes with reverence Senator Tinubu’s refreshing history of outstanding service and contributions to public good, praising her as a distinct voice in the advocacy for inclusive governance and a visible hand in the quest to build a country that serves all.

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He hails the first lady for the frontline roles she played in shaping legislations that empowers women and expanded opportunities for young people as a senator and currently in her role as the Mother of the Nation, recalling with nostalgia the partnership he enjoyed from Senator Tinubu while in the Senate.

“I join family, friends and well-wishers to celebrate a symbol of excellence, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Her Excellency Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on the joyous occasion of her 66th birthday. Senator Tinubu was a lawmaker per excellence, using legislation to address past failings and setting the pathway for a prosperous future for both the nation and its people” Gov Adeleke noted.

“As the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Tinubu has proven to be the mother of all, galvanising interests irrespective of the political divide towards the ultimate purpose of moving Nigeria forward. As a Senator, she was truly pan-Nigerian and as a First Lady, she is an excellent nation builder.

“As she turns 66 today, I honour her life of incredible service and contributions, and more importantly, praise her for sharing in the burden of serving Nigerians with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and charting the course for Nigeria that will serve all.”

Gov Adeleke prays to Almighty God to bless the first lady with more rewarding years in good health and sound mind while she continues to stay by the side of our beloved President Tinubu, offering the needed strength in his enviable pursuit of a prosperous Nigeria.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has launched a fresh attack on former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, over his administration’s financial record, accusing him of failing to fully account for the state’s liabilities when he left office.

The APC campaign council, in a statement issued by its spokesman, Dele Alake, on Monday, September 21, 2026, said recent disclosures by the Anambra State Government had challenged claims that Obi left the state without a debt burden.

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According to the council, the Anambra State Government disclosed that Obi spent about $4.05 billion, equivalent to N5.4 trillion, during his eight years as governor and contracted $123.77 million in external loans.

It further claimed that eight external borrowing facilities for projects covering malaria control, erosion management, education and healthcare were outstanding when Obi left office on March 17, 2014.

The APC council said subsequent administrations, including that of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, continued to service the obligations.

Alake argued that while borrowing was not inherently wrong when used for development, the issue was significant because of Obi’s long-standing public image as a financially prudent leader and his alleged claim that he left Anambra without a debt burden.

The statement also raised allegations concerning unpaid salaries during Obi’s tenure.

Alake cited a memo purportedly written by Obi’s then Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, dated April 25, 2006, appealing to the former governor to pay N15 million in monthly salaries owed to workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation.

According to the APC spokesman, the memo warned that the workers could protest at the Governor’s Office over the unpaid salaries.

The statement quoted Ileogbunam as appealing to Obi to consider the welfare of the affected workers and their families.

The APC campaign council further claimed that Obi had promised during his campaign for governor that he would resign if there was any case where workers were not paid as and when due.

Against that backdrop, Alake challenged Obi to honour what he described as his previous commitment to withdraw from the presidential race if it was established that his administration left liabilities behind in Anambra.

“Indeed, if Peter Obi has any honour, he must resign from the 2027 presidential race forthwith, in keeping with his promise to end his run if it is proven that his administration left behind liabilities in Anambra,” Alake said.

The APC spokesman also criticised Obi over a recent solidarity visit to an individual facing an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) trial, questioning the political implications of the visit.

The latest statement comes amid an ongoing dispute over the financial record of Obi’s eight-year administration in Anambra.

The Anambra State Government has maintained that records show external loans contracted during Obi’s tenure remained outstanding after he left office, while the issue has become a major point of political debate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The APC campaign council urged Obi to address the allegations and account for his administration’s financial record rather than continue to project himself as a leader who left Anambra without liabilities.

Political watchers have been and will continue following the verbose altercation between two illustrious sons of Igboland, Peter Gregory Obi and Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

Interestingly, both hail from Anambra State and share the common academic background of having studied at the famous University of Nigeria, for which they are called Lions. Their feminine counterparts would be called Lionesses.

At the moment they are in the roped square, battling for the votes of the entire Igboland, one for himself and the other for his “political friend”.

Obi, who prides himself as a trader in the polity, was governor of Anambra State from March 2006 to March 2014. He even survived an impeachment in his leadership of the state which resulted in a brief break in late 2006 and 2007. Towards the end of his tenure as governor, Obi warmed himself into the hearts of the party at the centre, then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was invited to the high table on several occasions by then President Goodluck Jonathan.

He has since remained focused on offering his services to Nigeria at the highest office in the land.

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Soludo is the incumbent governor of Anambra State. An office he unsuccessfully vied for in 2010 under the PDP. He faced defeat in the hands of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), led by Obi.

Obi Versus Soludo
The electorate understand that both are ambitious politicians, who would give whatever they deem fit to fuel the fire of their political appetite.

The fact that Soludo switched from the PDP to APGA to realise his gubernatorial ambition speaks volumes to politicians, their loyalty and ambitions.

Their academic backgrounds show that Obi earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1984, while Prof Soludo earned three degrees and a professorship in economics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, winning the prize for the best graduating student at every level. He etched his name into national consciousness during his tenure as the Economic Adviser to the President, which earned him appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). An office he used to engineer banking reforms in Nigeria and endear himself to the citizenry.

Their stories become more intriguing when mirrored in the political microscope.

Obi stood with the people, (something akin to the talikawa political philosophy in the northern part of Nigeria), under the grassroot political movement championed by the APGA and fought with the arms of strategic marketing communications, mass appeal and the judiciary to oust then ruling party at the centre, the PDP from the Anambra State Government House.

Soludo’s first attempt at gaining executive political power through the ruling PDP proved abortive and he had to navigate his way into APGA to realise his ambition.

On his way to the Anambra State Government House, through the APGA Soludo had to eulogise the heroes of the party and Igbo icons, including the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and Obi. Some of the eulogies he rendered now stare him in the face, diminishing his diatribes against Obi.

Politics of Friend of My Enemy
In the game of politics, fair is foul and foul is fair. What matters most to the average Nigerian politician is to attain his or her ambition. Nigeria’s political landscape is replete with family members (spouses, blood brothers/sisters, nephews and cousins, name it) being pitched against one another as pawns in the political chess game.

Political watchers are confident that the Obi, Soludo case will not be the last. It has been on, they say, citing the instance of cousins in Rivers State, Celestine Omehia and Rotimi Amaechi battling hard for the governorship of Rivers State in 2007. They also point out that no love lost political game played in Kwara State, involving the Olusola Saraki family with his son, Bukola Saraki who went toe-to-toe against his sister, Gbemisola Saraki.

At the moment the political melodrama involving the Nasir El-Rufai family, where his children are singing discordant tunes is a fresh case study in the Nigerian polity.

This is why political observers see nothing strange in the Obi versus Soludo political theatricals.

This matter is compounded by the fact that Nigerians care less about how their political leaders emerge. The Nigerian judiciary is also not known to indulge in meticulous scrutiny of how the executive power holders ascend the throne.

Those in the know maintain that Soludo is merely piping the tunes being dictated by the party at the centre, the All Progressives Congress (APC), partly because he wants to be in their good books, which will help him shield himself from thorough investigations, while he also wants to build a foundation for his future political ambitions.

Recall that Soludo sought the backing of the APC for his re-election as governor of Anambra State for which he in turn assured the powers that be, that he would support them in the presidential election of 2027.

As the beat for the dance of the voters in the 2027 presidential election hots up, the APC might have thought to undo a formidable opponent, Obi, in his homefront, sought for, found and recruited a good ally in Soludo.

A chieftain of the APC and Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, vented the stance of the ruling party and what informed the position, either unwittingly or strategically, in a post on his verified handle on X on Friday.

Keyamo wrote, “I see some suggestions that everyone is ‘obsessed’ about Peter Obi because we are always talking about him. I am sorry, but they miss the point. When someone lies per second, you also have to fact-check him per second. He got away with the lies in 2023, but this time Nigerians are ready to fact-check every claim of the ‘yes-daddy’ man.

“Therefore, to put it simply, the amount of time we talk about Peter Obi is directly proportional to the amount of lies he tells.”

What the People are Saying
The electorate to whom both Obi, Soludo and the APC are piping are not merely watching with keen interest, they are lending their voices into the political rhymes.

And the words from the streets indicate that the voters are, to paraphrase, legendary Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart, ‘the people did not just notice that Okonkwo was not seated among the elders; they also observed “that the second spirit walks with the same distinct, springy step as” Okonkwo’.

A political activist, Obodo Umunna, told Biztellers that while the political parties and politicians remain within their rights remain within their rights to canvass for votes, as they deem fit, they are also aware that the electorate can make free choices.

“This is why they are eager to grab it and run with it,” he said, adding that should they trust the narratives they are peddling, there would be less election malpractice in Nigeria.