Politics
2023 Presidential Poll: Presidency, APC attack Obi over stance on S-Court verdict
ABUJA — Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the last general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidency, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, disagreed on the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the September 6 verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, and affirmed President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Obi said Nigeria’s democracy was the victim of the October 26 Supreme Court judgment, lamenting that the court ignored evidence of identity theft and rigging against Tinubu, vowing that opposition to bad policies has started, he said: “This is just the beginning of the struggle.”
In a quick counter, the Presidency asked the former Anambra State governor, who got to power in Anambra via the apex court, to look for a better vocation and stop casting aspersions on the Judiciary, adding that courts don’t base their rulings on public opinion.
Also, the APC faulted what it called Obi’s ‘haughty sense of entitlement’, saying cases are won on evidence and law
I’ll continue to speak forthrightly
Obi said as a person who had previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, he would continue to speak forthrightly.
His words: “As students, young lads at CKC, Onitsha, we were taught values and admonished to always ‘choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong.’
“Setting legal issues aside, the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.
“It is, therefore, with great dismay that I observe that the court’s decision contradicts the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter. These were hefty allegations that should not be treated with levity.
Moral burden
“More appalling, the Supreme Court judgment wilfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections.
“With this counter-intuitive judgment, the Supreme Court has transferred a heavy moral burden from the courtrooms to our national conscience. Our young democracy is ultimately the main victim and casualty of the courtroom drama.
“To that extent, it is a show of unreasonable force against the very Nigerian people from whom the power of the Constitution derives. This Supreme Court ruling may represent the state of the law in 2023 but not the present demand for substantive justice.
“The judgment mixed principles and precepts. Indeed, the rationale and premise of the Supreme Court judgment have become clearer in the light of the deep revealing and troubling valedictory remarks by Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad, (JSC) on Friday 27th October 2023.
“In disagreeing very strongly with the ruling of both the Presidential Election Petitions Court, PEPC, and the Supreme Court on the outcome of the 25th February 2023 Presidential election as declared by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as democrats who believe in the rule of law, we recognize that the Supreme Court is the end stage of the quest for legal closure to the matter.
“As a party and as candidates, Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional remedies available to us.”
This is just the beginning of our struggle
“However, this end is only another beginning in our quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country.
“After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes, it behoves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this judgment on public record.
“We have long been aware of how weak national institutions have negatively affected our democracy. This year 2023 has been quite remarkable and revealing. INEC has displayed incompetence in the conduct of its statutory duty.
“The judiciary has largely acted in defiance of constitutional tenets, precedents, and established ground rules. Political expediency has preceded judicial responsibility.
“A mechanical application of technicalities has superseded the pursuit of justice and fairness. Both INEC and the Supreme Court as the referees, respectively shifted the goalposts in the middle of the game.
“Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling ends is where our commitment to a New Nigeria begins. Our mission and mandate remain unchanged.
“From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria. It is a new nation where things work, where the country is led from its present waste and consumption orientation to a production-driven economy.”
The future of the struggle
Obi further said: “Going forward, we in the Labour Party and the Obidient Movement are now effectively in opposition. We are glad that the nation has heard us loud and clear.
“We shall now expand the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country. We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs for hope.
“As stakeholders and elected Labour Party officials, we shall remain loyal to our manifesto. We will continue to canvass for good governance and focus on issues that promote national interest, unity, and cohesion.
Our opposition to bad policies starts now
“We will offer the checks and balances required in a functional democracy and vie robustly in forthcoming elections to elect those who share our vision of a new Nigeria.
“Given our present national circumstances, there is a compelling need for a strong political opposition.
We shall, therefore, remain in opposition, especially because of the policies and the governance modalities that we in the Labour Party campaigned for, especially reducing the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law, guaranteeing the responsibility to protect, and stabilizing the Nigerian currency; are clearly not the priorities of the present administration or is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.”
No court gives judgment based on public opinion – Presidency
Responding, the Presidency told Obi that no court in the country gives judgment based on public opinion.
It also said that having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the victory of President Tinubu, Obi should have congratulated the President and pledged his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.
The Presidency, in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, said it welcomed the pledge by Obi and his party to play the role of opposition and urged him to start preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027.
The statement, titled “Peter Obi should find better vocation instead of casting aspersions on the judiciary,’’ read: “Labour Party Presidential candidate in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi, addressed a press conference, just like Atiku Abubakar, where he cast aspersions on the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission for not declaring him the winner of the February 25, 2023 election.
“We are at a loss as to how the copy-cat Obi and his faction of the Labour Party convinced themselves they won an election in which they came a distant third.
“The grand delusion that made Mr. Obi believe he could have won a national election where he ran the most hateful, divisive and polarising campaign that pitched Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria should be a matter for deeper examination.
“At the press conference where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos, Mr. Obi contradicted himself. Here was a beneficiary of judicial pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgment did not go his way.
“Mr. Obi claimed the Supreme Court justices didn’t consider public opinion in delivering what has been applauded as a most profound judgment in an election appeal where the Labour Party candidate presented the most watery and unreasonable petition before any court in the history of electoral cases in Nigeria.
False allegation
“He made false allegations of rigging and other electoral malpractices yet could not produce any evidence to back up his claims at both the court of first instance and at the apex court.
“In a failed effort to mobilise and retain the support of his supporters, Obi gave them a forlorn hope that he won the election and would prove it before the courts.
‘’Throughout the trial, his lawyers didn’t present any alternative results different from the results INEC uploaded on the IReV portal and the ones signed by all party agents from the 176,000 polling units.
“We wonder how the Labour Party candidate expected the courts to do justice on the basis of rumours, lies and false narratives by sponsored partisans and fanatical members of his Obidient Movement.
“We expected the Labour Party candidate to know that the Supreme Court or any other court does not give judgment based on public opinion and mob sentiments. Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence, precedents and the rule of law.
Congratulates Tinubu
“Having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the bonafide of President Bola Tinubu as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and pledged his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.
“But instead, he brought up extraneous matters that he thought the apex court should have considered to declare him the winner. In our view, the drowning Obi, just like Atiku, was merely attempting to hold on to a straw in raking up new allegations, which exist only in his imagination and that of his hordes of supporters.
“Our admonition to Mr. Peter Obi is to find another worthwhile vocation to engage his time henceforth, having been rejected by the majority of Nigerians who didn’t consider him qualified to lead our country.
“Nigerians rejected Peter Obi and his demagoguery at the poll because he posed present and future danger to the peace, progress and stability of our country.”
Cases are won on evidence, law, APC mocks Obi
On its part, the APC, in a statement by its spokesman, Felix Morka, said everything in Nigeria could not be all about Obi who he said had been a beneficiary of the courts in the past.
The statement read: “In his belated and grouchy reaction to the judgment of the Supreme Court dismissing his appeal against the electoral victory of President Tinubu, Obi stated that ‘the Supreme Court exhibited a disturbing aversion to public opinion just as it abandoned its responsibility as a court of law and policy.’
“At his press conference earlier today, November 6, 2023, Obi, again blamed our democratic institutions, particularly the courts, for not awarding him victory — not because he won the election, not because he proved his case in court as required by law but because he is Peter Obi. That haughty sense of entitlement seems to pervade his vitriolic attack on our institutions.
In the now-controversial post shared on his social media page, Osborne wrote: “In a sane clime president Bola Ahmed Tinubu would’ve respectfully and honourably resigned. I’m of APC but truth be told.”
The comment quickly generated reactions online before the Akwa Ibom State Government moved to terminate his appointment.
In a letter dated June 2, 2026, the Office of the Political Adviser to the Governor announced his immediate disengagement.
The termination letter, signed by the Political Adviser to the Governor, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, stated that Osborne Ubong Okon had been relieved of his duties with immediate effect.Politics
According to the letter, the decision was taken over actions the office described as disloyal.
“You are hereby relieved of your engagement as a Media Aide to the Political Adviser to His Excellency the Governor, with immediate effect and from today, 2nd June 2026,” the memo read.
The letter further cited “actions bordering on disloyalty” and the need to keep the office “purified” as reasons for the dismissal.
The office also issued a warning to members of the public and government officials regarding future dealings with the former aide.
“Any person having dealings with the above-mentioned former Media Aide in relation to this office of his former engagement does so on his/her own peril,” the statement added.
The development has sparked fresh conversations about the limits of political expression for government appointees and the expectations of loyalty within public service, particularly when comments are directed at the presidency.
Neither Osborne nor the Presidency had publicly responded to the development as of the time of filing this report.
The decision was taken during plenary on Tuesday at the Assembly complex in Dutse, the state capital, as the party continues to deal with the fallout from recent primaries.
The action comes amid a wave of suspensions across Jigawa APC following the recently conducted primary election.
Several special advisers and special assistants have already been suspended statewide over alleged anti-party activities from state level down to local government level.
Maigari, who doubles as the councillor representing Auyo Ward, was suspended after the House considered a motion by the Majority Leader, Lawan Dansure.
The motion sought disciplinary action against the lawmaker for conduct deemed harmful to party cohesion.
Moving the motion during the Assembly’s plenary session on Tuesday, Dansure urged members to support the suspension.
He said the House must act to protect the integrity of the ruling party ahead of 2027.
According to him, the actions of the Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council are detrimental to the unity, stability, and progress of the All Progressives Congress in the state.
“His actions are detrimental to the unity, stability, and progress of the All Progressives Congress,” Dansure told the House.
He argued that anti-party conduct at the grassroots level could undermine APC’s performance in future elections.
He said the House could not fold its arms while party discipline was being tested.
“Hon. Haruna Maigari is hereby suspended as Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council over alleged anti-party activities,” Dangyatin announced during plenary.
The Speaker also said the House remains committed to party discipline at all levels of governance in the state.
Dangyatin then constituted an investigative committee to look into the matter and report back within two weeks.
“The committee is expected to establish facts and recommend further action based on its findings,” he said.
The Speaker also directed the suspended lawmaker to hand over all official documents in his possession to the Deputy Speaker of Auyo Legislative Council.
He said the handover must be done immediately to ensure continuity of council business.
Meanwhile, the House also received a formal notification from Governor Umar Namadi regarding an official trip.
“The governor is billed to attend a two-day West African Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, Ghana,” the Speaker said during the plenary session of the Assembly.
Dangyatin, who explained that the governor’s foreign engagement will hold between June 2 and June 3, 2026, added that “the governor’s participation is aimed at attracting investment to Jigawa’s rice value chain.”
By Chinedu Sabastine
Mr. Samson Chukwu Nnamani has declared that he remains the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State ahead of the 2027 election.
Nnamani made this known on Friday during a press briefing held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Enugu.
Reacting to allegations that he was suspended from the party before the PDP governorship primary election, Nnamani dismissed the claim, questioning how a supposedly suspended aspirant could participate in the exercise and secure votes.
“The purported claim that I was suspended is very funny. If I was suspended as they claim, how can they attribute votes for me during their kangaroo primary,” Nnamani questioned.
Represented by his Media Director, Dr. Buchi Nnaji, the PDP chieftain said his authenticity derives from the present recognition of the Abdulrahman-led faction of the PDP by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of which he is a member.
The clarification followed the emergence of multiple claimants to the PDP governorship ticket in Enugu State.
Nnamani insisted that the party was no longer factionalised following INEC’s recognition of the Abdulrahman-led PDP leadership, noting that the panel which declared him winner where sent from their headquaters, Abuja.
Nnamani expressed gratitude to PDP leaders and supporters whom he said turned out massively on Sunday, May 24, 2026, to elect him as the party’s governorship candidate.
He pledged to reposition Enugu State through infrastructure development, job creation and people-oriented policies.
“As the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Enugu State, I remain committed to the ideals of good governance, inclusive leadership, economic development, youth empowerment, quality education, improved healthcare and enhanced security for all residents,” he said.
He added that his aspiration was to build “a greater Enugu State where opportunities abound for every citizen, irrespective of political affiliation, religion or social status.”
According to him, his administration would prioritise infrastructure development, industrialisation, support for small businesses and welfare programmes aimed at improving the lives of the people.
“We shall also review and remove policies and practices that are truncating the wellbeing, economic survival and social advancement of the citizens,” he stated.
Nnamani further called on stakeholders, party faithful, youths, women, traditional rulers and the people of Enugu State to join hands in building “a united, peaceful and progressive state.”
“Together, we can achieve the Enugu of our dreams,” he added.
The Presidency has reacted following the circulation of an alleged WhatsApp voice note in which President Bola Tinubu reportedly claims he begged opposition figure Peter Obi to step down ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The reaction came on Wednesday from Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President.
Onanuga condemned the audio file, labeling it a fabrication and called for legal action against popular social media critic VeryDarkMan who shared it.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform.,” Onanuga tweeted.
In the viral video, VeryDarkMan used the alleged leaked audio to urge Nigerians to vote against President Tinubu’s reelection bid in the upcoming 2027 polls.
Recall that just days ago, on Saturday, May 23, 2026, President Tinubu secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a landslide nationwide direct primary election.
During that contest, Tinubu faced a lone challenger, Edo State businessman and APC chieftain Stanley Osifo. The President won with 10,999,162 votes from the 12,643,306 registered party members, while Osifo secured 16,503 votes.
Meanwhile, Peter Obi, who finished third in the 2023 election, is widely expected to fly the flag for the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC). Both Obi and Tinubu hail from the southern region of Nigeria and are set to face last year’s runner-up, Atiku Abubakar, who is expected to lead the ticket for the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyichukwuma Odii, has accused Governor Francis Nwifuru of running the state like a personal family business.
Odii made the remark shortly after emerging as the PDP governorship candidate for the 2027 election following the party’s primary election conducted across the 13 local government areas of the state.
Speaking to party supporters in Abakaliki, Odii said the 2027 election would be about rescuing Ebonyi from poor governance and restoring economic growth and public welfare.
“Ebonyi can never be consumed. Ebonyi can never be conquered. Ebonyi can never become a personal family business, and we are here for the rescue of our dear state,” he stated.
The PDP flag bearer pledged to improve the welfare of civil servants and teachers while promising policies aimed at reviving the state’s economy.
Odii also dismissed fears over political opposition ahead of the election, insisting that his focus remained the development and progress of Ebonyi State.
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