Politics
My Duplicates Are Still On Rampage – Peter Obi
In a series of tweets shared on Thursday, former LP Presidential candidate Peter Obi raised alarm about the existence of duplicates posing as him and mimicking his voice to deceive people.
Obi expressed his frustration at the increasing frequency of such incidents and the extent to which people would go to cause mischief. He revealed that he has been targeted both locally and internationally.
“My duplicates are still on the rampage, they now mimic my voice and call people. There is no limit that people cannot go to cause mischief on their target. I have been a target both locally and internationally.”
Obi stated that the most recent occurrence took place on May 17th at the Court of Appeal premises of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
He said that his attention was drawn to the situation outside the courtroom, where one Prince Mustapha Audu, son of the late Governor of Kogi State, was reportedly castigating and speaking ill of Obi.
According to Obi’s account, Audu claimed that Obi had called him while he was in front of his office on Tuesday morning but abruptly ended the call after speaking in Igbo, leaving Audu unable to respond.
Obi stated that Audu went on to accuse him of favoring businessmen solely because they were Igbo, questioning his ability to accommodate other ethnic groups if he aspires to lead the country.
Alerted by one of his aides about the unfolding situation, Obi pleaded with them to delay Audu and the OBIdients accompanying him until he could leave the courtroom and address the matter directly.
He said “A report came to me while I was seated in court that one Prince Mustapha Audu, son of the late Governor of Kogi state, held the OBIdient’s Chief Spokesman, Dr Yunusa Tanko and some others spellbound – castigating and talking down on me, describing me as an ethnic and religious bigot.
“He claimed that I called him while I was in front of his office on Tuesday morning at about 11 am, but suddenly cut off the phone after I spoke Igbo and he, Audu was unable to respond.
He further stated that he met with Prince Mustapha Audu, who reiterated his previous claims of an encounter with him and expressed his anger over the alleged phone call incident.
“I met with Audu and he repeated the same story, adding that he was angry at me for cutting off the phone on him because he could not speak Igbo. He insisted that I was in front of his office in Abuja when I called.” He said.
During a subsequent interaction with Audu, Obi reiterated that he did not make the alleged phone call and emphasized that he could not have been in front of Audu’s office on the specified date due to his absence from Abuja and the country altogether.
Obi clarified that he was not physically present in Abuja at the time Audu claimed to have received the call.
“I then introduced myself again to him and told him, “My brother, I did not call you, and I couldn’t have been in front of your office on Tuesday because I was not in Abuja, and not even in the country.
“At about the time you alleged that I called you, I was arriving Nice in France for a meeting. By the evening of the same day, I flew to London for another meeting and in fact, had to breeze in to felicitate with my dear elder brother, Dele Momodu on his 63rd birthday.
“I only flew into the country this morning for this court session” The young man, looking embarrassed and surprised at the same time added that the voice of the caller and everything sounded like mine. We exchanged pleasantries and took pictures.” He said
Obi further expressed his concerns about these desperate efforts to undermine him and gain political advantage at his expense.
Addressing the situation, Obi emphasized that he remains unfazed by legitimate competition and welcomes it within the bounds of fair play. However, he expressed deep worry over the extent some individuals are willing to go in their efforts to discredit him.
“Ordinarily, I am not scared or worried about competitions provided they are within the legitimate rules of engagement, but going this far is worrisome.
“It is quite very worrisome because this is certainly not the right way to develop a nation that is in dire need of positive changes that will enable her to join the League of Nations that are moving forward.
“I appeal to the public to beware and not easily deceived with the cheap tricks of impersonating me for whatever ulterior intentions. – PO.” It added
In an effort to reduce Nigeria’s debt burden and stabilize the economy, President Bola Tinubu announced on Monday that the country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has fallen from 97 to 65 percent over the 17 months since he took office.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for seven new ministers at the State House, Abuja, Tinubu emphasized the government’s progress in stabilizing the economy despite challenging conditions.
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“For us, it was a challenge when the nation was servicing its debt with 97 percent of its revenue. It was nothing but the edge of the cliff,” Tinubu said.
“But today, I can report to you that we have brought that down to 65 percent, and we have never defaulted in meeting all obligations, both foreign and domestic.”
His remarks follow Afreximbank’s recent projection that Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio could reach 110.4 percent by 2024.
Afreximbank’s 2024 Nigeria Country Brief warned of a troubling upward trend in debt servicing, which could see the ratio surge from 33.8 percent in 2017 to a projected 110.4 percent next year.
However, with continued reforms, the report suggested the ratio might decline to 62.6 percent by 2025.
In the first nine months of 2023, debt servicing consumed 66.9 percent (₦5.79 trillion) of Nigeria’s total revenue, a slight improvement from 99.3 percent (₦4.23 trillion) during the same period in 2022.
Tinubu, while optimistic about economic recovery, acknowledged the ongoing struggles faced by Nigerians due to a sharp increase in the cost of living triggered by recent economic reforms.
“We have taken the bull by the horns,” the President asserted. “We have stopped the scavengers. We will fully put an end to the profiteers and smugglers of our resources across the country. We are not shirking our responsibility; we are confronting it head-on.”
He further expressed confidence that Nigeria was on a “good path” toward recovery, emphasizing that the government remains committed to re-engineering the economy.
He cited the introduction of a new minimum wage as one measure aimed at mitigating rising living costs.
Monday’s ceremony also saw the swearing-in of seven new ministers, part of a recent cabinet reshuffle.
In two batches, ministers including Idi Maiha (Livestock Development) and Dr Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade, and Investment) took their oaths.
The reshuffle, which saw 10 ministers reassigned, five discharged, and seven new appointments confirmed by the Senate, reflects Tinubu’s stated commitment to reshaping his cabinet to meet Nigeria’s evolving challenges.
As the administration continues to implement reforms, President Tinubu emphasized a long-term vision for economic sustainability, not only for the current generation but also for future ones.
“Despite the challenges, we must undertake the job of re-engineering and retooling this country’s economic path,” he said.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated that Godwins Omobayo, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, appear in person on November 26, 2024, following allegations of contempt of court stemming from his failure to comply with a previous ruling.
Justice James Omotosho issued the order on Monday, asserting that Omobayo, described as the alleged contemnor, must be afforded a fair hearing in accordance with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
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The court action was initiated by Philip Shaibu, who was reinstated as Deputy Governor after the court invalidated his impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly on July 17.
Justice Omotosho ruled that the impeachment proceedings lacked due process and that the grounds for Shaibu’s removal did not constitute gross misconduct.
Shaibu’s suit targets several parties, including the Inspector-General of Police and the Edo State House of Assembly, seeking enforcement of the court’s judgment and demanding that Omobayo vacate the deputy governorship position.
Omobayo assumed office on April 8, following Shaibu’s impeachment.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Omobayo was served legal documents but failed to appear.
In response, Shaibu’s attorney, Ayotunde Ogunleye, SAN, urged the court to compel Omobayo’s attendance, citing the need to uphold judicial authority.
In delivering his ruling, Justice Omotosho adjourned the case until November 26 for further proceedings.
He directed that hearing notices be served to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th defendants involved in the charge.
“In the interest of justice and to provide the alleged contemnor with an opportunity to defend himself and receive a fair hearing, in accordance with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), I hereby order that the alleged contemnor appear in court in person on November 26, 2024,” the judge stated.
It is noteworthy that the current tenure of the state government is set to conclude on November 12.
On the heels of the salvo fired by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, signalling what might be a long-drawn hot exchange of words, the Presidency has made what it called ‘our initial response to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’.
This was contained in a statement put out on micro-blogging site, X, Sunday by the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga.
The former vice president had detailed the shortcomings of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, making efforts to detail what he would have done differently, that would have better results for Nigeria.
In a swift response, the Presidency countered that Atiku and his ideas “were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll”, based on his antecedents.
The statement reads, “OUR INITIAL RESPONSE TO ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR
“We have just read a statement credited to former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in which he tried to discredit President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform programmes while pushing his untested agenda as a better alternative.
“First, Alhaji Atiku’s ideas, which lacked details, were rejected by Nigerians in the 2023 poll.
“If he had won the election, we believe he would have plunged Nigeria into a worse situation or run a regime of cronyism.
“Abubakar lost the election partly because he vowed to sell the NNPC and other assets to his friends. Nigerians have not forgotten this, nor would they be comforted by Atiku’s antecedents when he ran the economy in the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government between 1999 and 2003.
“As vice president, Atiku supervised a questionable privatisation programme. He and his boss demonstrated a lack of faith in our educational system, and both went to establish their universities while they allowed ours to flounder.
“Talk is cheap. It is easy to pontificate and deride a rival’s programmes even when there are irrefutable indices that the economic reforms yield positives despite the temporary difficulties.
“Despite the futile attempt to hoodwink Nigerians again in his statement, it is gratifying that the former Vice President could not repudiate the economic reforms pursued by the Tinubu administration because they are the right things to do.
“His advocacy for a gradualist approach only showed that he was not in tune with the enormity of problems inherited by President Tinubu.
“It is so easy to paint a flowery to-do list. It is expected of an election loser.
“President Tinubu met a country facing several grave challenges. Fuel subsidies were siphoning away enormous resources we could ill afford, and there was criminal arbitrage in the forex market.
“No leader worth his name will allow these two economic disorders to persist without moving to end them surgically.
“While advocating for gradual reforms may sound appealing, Tinubu took measures that should have been taken decades ago by Alhaji Abubakar and his boss when they had the opportunity.
“Alhaji Abubakar calls for empathy and a human face to reforms. We have no problem with this as it resonates well with our administration’s focus. President Tinubu has consistently emphasised the need for compassion and protection of the most vulnerable.
“The administration has prioritised social safety nets and targeted support for those affected by recent economic transitions.”
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