Politics
Peter Obi Desperate, Not A Democrat He Claimed To Be – Lai Mohammed
The government led by President Muhammadu Buhari has cautioned Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, against inciting violence related to the outcome of the presidential election, which resulted in Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) being declared the winner.
Lai Mohammed, the Information Minister, delivered the warning during his official engagements with various international media organizations in Washington DC.
“Obi and his vice, Datti Ahmed, cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the president-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is sworn in on May 29, it will be the end of democracy in Nigeria,” the minister said. “This is treason. You cannot be inviting insurrection, and this is what they are doing.”
He noted that it was inappropriate for Mr. Obi to both seek legal recourse in court regarding the election results, and simultaneously encourage people to resort to violence.
“Obi’s statement is that of a desperate person. He is not the democrat he claimed to be,” Mr Mohammed alleged. “A democrat should not believe in democracy only when he wins the election.”
The Minister also stated that neither Peter Obi nor Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, had a clear pathway to victory in challenging the election results. He emphasized that both individuals failed to meet the constitutional requirements needed to be declared the winner of the election.
“Only the president-elect met the criteria by scoring 8.79 million votes and having one-quarter of all the vote cast in 29 states of the federation,” Mr Mohammed argued.
The Minister further pointed out that Atiku Abubakar, who came in second place with 6.9 million votes, only managed to win one-quarter of the total votes cast in 21 states. Similarly, Peter Obi, who came in third place with 5.8 million votes, only won one-quarter of the votes cast in 15 states.
“You cannot win an election in a poll where you came a distant third position and failed to meet constitutional requirements. Peter Obi, while complaining of fraud, has not disowned his victory in Lagos,” the minister stated.
The Minister also explained that his visit to the United States was aimed at addressing the negative narratives propagated by opposition parties and other individuals who had criticized the conduct and outcome of the election.
“The election is the most fair and credible because of the introduction of the Bimodal Voters Verification System (BVAS), which I regard as a game changer,” said Mr Mohammed.
Politics
PDP Governors Probe Ondo Polls, Criticizes Edo Result
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of electoral malpractice, including vote-buying and result manipulation.
This was disclosed during a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum on Saturday in Jos, Plateau State.
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The forum, chaired by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, criticized the conduct of the election, which saw APC’s Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa secure a landslide victory for another four-year term in Alagbaka, Akure.
“We are still reviewing documents from the Ondo election, where the APC openly bought votes and manipulated results,” Mohammed said.
He urged the judiciary to “save Nigerian democracy” and called on the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent what he described as “institutional sabotage of the people’s will.”
The PDP governors also condemned the September governorship election in Edo State, describing it as a “rape of democracy.”
The forum accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the APC to declare its candidate the winner despite claims that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had secured the majority of lawful votes.
“INEC blatantly manipulated the results in favor of the APC candidate. This undermines the credibility of our electoral process,” Mohammed said.
Beyond electoral grievances, the governors urged the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by February 2025.
They emphasized the need for broader consultations with stakeholders to resolve the party’s internal leadership crisis and strengthen its position as the main opposition party.
The forum reiterated its commitment to democratic values and vowed to push for electoral reforms that would restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
The Ondo governorship election has sparked a renewed call for transparency in the country’s electoral system, with the PDP vowing to challenge what it views as a subversion of democracy.
Politics
Gaetz Withdraws From Trumps Cabinet Nomination
Following his observations that ‘the momentum was strong’ Matt Gaetz whom 47th POTUS elect, Donald Trump nominated for Attorney General has withdrawn.
Biztellers reports that this follows his meeting with Senate and the feedback, which included two women, represented by their attorneys, who accused him of having paid for sex.
Consequently, Gaetz placed on record his full commitment to seeing “that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history.”
His withdrawal according his statement on micro-blogging site, X, was based on his conviction that “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle”.
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In is view, “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1”.
Gaetz wrote, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
His backers have promptly encouraged to take his seat in the House of Representatives, having been elected to the house under the flag of the Republicans to represent Florida.
Politics
Adeleke Represents SW On Ad Hoc Committee on Nat’l Electrification Plan
The Executive Governors from Nigeria’s South West have unanimously nominated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the chairman of the zone on the National Economic Council (NEC).
Adeleke is the Executive Governor of Osun State, southwest, Nigeria.
This, according to the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, transpired on Thursday, at a meeting of the NEC.
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He noted that the meeting reviewed the state of Nigeria’s electricity sector and resolved to engage subnational structures to address current challenges in the sector.
“The meeting particularly sought to build on the devolution of the electricity sector and its movement into the concurrent legislative list which empowers state governments to regulate the sector in their respective areas,” he stated.
Consequently, the NEC, therefore set up an ad hoc committee to review actions in the sector by state governments and explore ways to ramp up activities through coordination, Rasheed highlighted.
The full list of members of NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Electrification:
- Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Out – Chairman, South-South
- Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda – Chairman, North-West
- Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya – Chairman, North-East
- Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke – Chairman, South-West
- Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma – Chairman, South-East
- Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang – Chairman, North-Central
- Hon. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
- Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu
- Special Adviser, NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai
- Special Adviser, Power Minister, Hon. Bolaji Tunji
- MD/CEO Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu
- MD/CEO Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije
- Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak
- NEC Secretariat