Politics
The Soludo, Obi Spat – When Brothers Fight to the Finish
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.
With the 100-day countdown to Nigeria’s 2027 general election, there are signals that the poll might be marred by voter-apathy.
With the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) kicking off the display of the National Register of Voters (NRV) and the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) last Friday, indications from various states show low voter turnout at the Ward/Registration Area levels.
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The INEC, however, attributed the low turnout to the exercise being in its opening day and expressed optimism that there would be an improvement with time.
While the exercise began smoothly and peacefully in many states, eligible voters in Umuahia, Abia State, expressed anger and disappointment over their inability to collect their PVCs following the absence of INEC officials at some designated collection centres.
The exercise followed an announcement by the Commission that PVCs are now ready for collection.
The INEC in inviting the public to the exercise declared, “Registered in 2025? Your PVC is now ready for collection. The cards are available for fresh registrants, transfers, replacements, and those who carried out information updates or reviews in 2025. Voters from previous registration exercises can also collect theirs.
“If you registered, requested a transfer, or applied for a replacement of a lost or damaged PVC during the first phase, your PVC will be available for collection.”
It added that “Uncollected PVCs from previous voter registration exercises will also be available.”
Collection at the Registration Areas (RAs) runs from Friday, October 9, to Thursday, October 15, 2026, between the hours of 9am to 3pm. From Friday, October 16, 2026, it moved to the Local Government Areas LGAs.
In the same period, the Commission said, “From Friday, 9th to Thursday, 15th October 2026, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC will display the National Register of Voters for public scrutiny at all Registration Areas nationwide.”
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has predicted that President Tinubu will defeat his major challengers by a wide margin in the 2027 presidential election.
Bwala made the prediction on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he discussed the political strength of the Tinubu administration and the state of the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the margin of victory for Tinubu would be so wide that Nigerians would be surprised.
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“Let me tell you, and let me say it categorically, and I’ll be happy to come back. The margin of gap that President Bola Tinubu will give each and every one of these candidates will be so much that you won’t believe it,” Bwala said.
Explaining the basis for his prediction, Bwala pointed to the number of governors he said had aligned with the president, arguing that governors control important political structures within their respective states.
“No, I am saying—you asked me to give data now. So this is data. You used to conjecture, I speak to data,” he said.
“Since then, President Bola Tinubu has got how many governors on his side? How many governors have joined him? The governors are the chief executive officers of their respective states. They coordinate the structures of the state. They won their own election to be governors.”
Bwala said the support of the governors would translate into political structures, resources and goodwill for Tinubu ahead of the election.
“These people say, ‘We are putting our goodwill, our resources, our structure, and our support to the President.’ You multiply that by the number of people that have come to him, then you stretch it further by the people who are impacted positively by his… what do you call it? By his policy,” he added.
The presidential aide also cited what he described as progress under Tinubu since 2023.
“Then you look at how his… Before he became President, the Naira… you couldn’t trade with the Naira around the world. You can do it now!” he said.
“So these are facts, verifiable data to suggest that President Bola from 2023 to now has made a marked progress.”
Bwala Claims Atiku, Obi Have Lost Key Supporters
Bwala also turned his attention to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, who are among the prominent opposition figures expected to feature prominently in the 2027 presidential contest.
He claimed Atiku had lost a significant number of key political figures who previously worked with him.
“But in terms of the other candidates who said he will not win: Atiku Abubakar lost close to 35% of key people that you know around him,” Bwala said.
“All the governors that worked for him that time are not going to be with him, I need you to know that in case you don’t know.”
Bwala also claimed Obi had lost most of the critical figures who supported his 2023 presidential campaign.
“Peter Obi lost 75% of the critical people that carried his campaign—they’ve all disappeared,” he said.
“And some of them went to Atiku, some of them went wherever they could go to. In terms of the other candidate, they just came to mark presence there.”
‘They Lost the Election Already’
Bwala further accused some opposition politicians of displaying what he described as a “defeatist attitude” ahead of the 2027 election.
“But I’m talking of these people that you think they are making a case—what they have is what we call defeatist attitude,” he said.
“How can you in one breath say you’re winning election, and in another breath you’re already threatening Nigeria will be… there will be no Nigeria, there will be all those things?”
He added: “Even the talking points of their campaign will suggest to you that they’ve lost the victory. They lost the election already.”
Bwala Defends Tinubu’s Policies
The presidential aide also defended the administration’s policies, arguing that they were improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly those in the informal sector.
“See, how can our policy… Our policy is raising a lot of people from the doldrums,” Bwala said.
“Look at the people in the informal sector of the economy, the women… You need to see—some of these your news media have been covering it.”
He also questioned the level of engagement some opposition politicians had with ordinary Nigerians before becoming prominent political figures.
“In terms of these people you’ve mentioned, tell me the last time they were actively involved in caring about the internal… When was the last time Amechi, before today, before he was made Vice President, that he had any engagement with the masses?” he asked.
“So you can come overnight, immediately, and just start talking?”
Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has said he would bring the price of petrol down to about ₦300 per litre if elected president in the 2027 general election.
Duke disclosed this on Wednesday while explaining his proposed approach to crude oil production and domestic fuel supply.
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When asked about the realistic price of petrol under his presidency, the former Cross River State governor said his target would be to reduce the pump price to about ₦300 per litre.
“To bring it to about 300 Naira. I’ve told you… it sounds so outlandish, but I’ve given you the arithmetic,” Duke said.
He explained that his proposal would be based on allocating a portion of Nigeria’s crude oil production for domestic consumption and selling the remaining volume.
According to him, if the country’s daily consumption requires 600,000 barrels, that volume would be allocated for domestic use, while the remaining one million barrels would be sold.
“Because I allocate 600,000 barrels if that’s what you consume daily. Allocate that to yourself. The other one million, you can sell,” he said.
His proposal comes as the cost of petrol remains a major issue in Nigeria, with fuel prices having significant implications for transportation, businesses and household expenses.
Duke is seeking the presidency on the platform of the PRP in the 2027 general election.
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