Politics
Peter Obi’s movement bigger than EndSARS – Abure, LP chair
Embattled National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has spoken on the lingering feud in the party, Peter Obi’s candidacy and other issues
Why is it difficult to resolve the Labour Party chairmanship tussle between you and the factional leader, Callistus Okafor?
It is only in Nigeria here you find that somebody can just wake up and say he is a party national chairman. Callistus Okafor is just somebody who wanted attention, and unfortunately, he is getting it. Was there an election or convention that produced him as the national chairman?
But Okafor quoted the constitution that when a chairman dies or resigns, the deputy takes over.
Which constitution is he talking about? Somebody can wake up and say anything. It is left for us to find out from INEC and other bodies. People who are hungry shouldn’t just wake up to present another presidential candidate because an election is coming and claim that he is the chairman of the party. Since he said the issue is in court, there is no problem. There are several cases in court; how many do you see being advertised on the pages of newspapers? When we had our presidential primary, it wasn’t hidden; it was clear. Pat Utomi and others were there. You saw what played out before we arrived at the decision we took.
He also warned that Peter Obi was sitting on a keg of gun powder accepting to be your presidential candidate. How do you react?
If we are sitting on a keg of gun powder, why can’t he just wait for it to explode? The truth is that Okafor just wants food to eat. His case is not a threat to us at all. We will meet in court as he said. It is not a difficult task for anyone to find out who the chairman of the Labour Party is from the Independent National Electoral Commission. I don’t think that at this time of our development, when we want to get it right politically that we should be promoting what will bring down the momentum of the people. This country is dying and it is on the brink of collapse. I think we need to show enough patriotism to prevent it from collapsing.
Recently, Peter Obi has come under fire for travelling to Egypt when he ought to be campaigning for your Ekiti governorship candidate. How do you react to that?
It is a normal thing for people in opposition to find faults. What’s their business with him travelling to Egypt? It is because they are already afraid of Peter Obi. That’s why they are always looking for excuses to attack him. Is it a few days before the election that electioneering campaigns are done? People who want to win an election already know how to go about it. The truth is that there is no amount of negative report that will bring down Peter Obi’s presidential train. It is clear that he is ahead of other candidates. His track record is clear.
When you put him on a scale with other presidential candidates, it is very obvious that he stands out. Compare him with Atiku (Abubakar), and the difference is clear. That is because we knew Atiku when he was in Customs and later became the Vice President. When Peter Obi was also governor of Anambra State, we knew what happened. We know what both of them did in their private lives and in public offices. Is it (Bola) Tinubu that we want to talk about? It is clear Obi is way ahead. If he is going to Egypt for a meeting and that is his priority, what’s their problem?
Don’t you think Obi’s presence in Ekiti State would have boosted the chances of your candidate in the state?
Not really. Even the President cannot be expected to do everything on his own. There should be division of labour. There are leaders in Ekiti State who have been working hard. The people already know their candidates and where they are heading. Nigerians are suffering and they are tired. The people have made up their minds as to where they want to go. If they like, let them bring 100 bullion vans of money. The popular reggae icon, Bob Marley, said ‘you can fool some people sometimes but you can’t fool all the people all the time.’
What is the Labour Party doing differently to ensure Obi wins the 2023 presidential election?
Obviously, everybody has come to a realisation that our party is not the Labour Party of yesterday. We’re building on that momentum and expanding our horizons. You know people have been clamouring for an alternative to the APC and the PDP over the years and that is the opportunity we have provided for Nigeria. That was also why we sought the best candidate. By the time we come up with our vice presidential candidate, it will shock Nigerians because we are going to get somebody with the same credentials as Peter Obi. That will put an end to the whole of the APC and PDP. Quite frankly, we need to change those who have mismanaged this economy.
There is a perceived assumption that Peter Obi is a social media president who may lose at the poll when the actual voting process begins. What’s your take on this perception?
If you look at the EndSARS protest, you cannot underestimate what the social media can do, especially with the younger generation. It is very clear that the people of Nigeria are tired. The truth is that a mind that is equipped is one that will be able to effect changes. Our youths have taken the election and collection of PVCs up as a challenge to actualise the changes. My party office here is already filled up with people registering for PVCs. The same thing is also evident across the federation. It is a very powerful movement that is good for us. It is even good that the opponents are underrating us and they will see the result in February 2023.
This movement is more than EndSARS, I can assure you. You can see how people are moving around, struggling to get their PVCs. If you visit INEC office in Abuja, the unprecedented crowd there now will send a signal. Go to Lagos, Warri, Imo and even Sokoto in the North, you will be shocked to see the crowd. But it is always good for your opponents to believe you are not on the ground. Technology has broken all barriers. What we actually need now to mobilise Nigerians are smartphones and social media. In the past, these were absent. People had to be in different wards to canvass for votes. Now, you can canvass on your phones. Was the success of the EndSARS process not attributed to the social media? They had to bring in the military to kill people before they could have their way. If not for the use of brute force by the military to break up that movement, you can be sure that something would have come out of it. This is why it is good for us to be underrated over our presence on social media at this moment.
PUNCH
The Ebonyi State Government has effectively restricted political campaigns and gatherings in Ezza South Local Government Area, directing political parties and groups to obtain prior approval from the council chairman before holding such events.
The directive, issued by the Chairman of Ezza South Local Government Area, Hon. Chinedu Mkpuma, follows a recent security breach in Amaezekwe community amid growing concerns over political violence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement made available to journalists in Abakaliki, Mkpuma expressed dismay over the security situation and said the measure was necessary to protect lives and property, maintain public order and prevent further security breaches.
He acknowledged the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of association and peaceful assembly but warned that political gatherings in the local government area must henceforth receive prior approval from his office.
The chairman added that violations of the directive would attract appropriate action in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party governorship candidate, Eze Oko, has condemned the reported killings and alleged attacks on opposition parties in the state, calling on political leaders to end violence and intimidation.
Oko questioned why opposition members were allegedly being targeted and urged youths to resist attempts by politicians to use them as instruments of violence.
He called for a level playing field for all political parties and candidates, insisting that political competition should be based on ideas, manifestos and records of performance rather than violence.
The LP candidate also cautioned political leaders against inflammatory statements capable of fuelling tension during the electioneering period.
He urged candidates seeking re-election to allow their achievements to speak for them instead of allegedly engaging political thugs to intimidate opponents.
Oko further appealed to youths to reject political thuggery and violence, while extending his condolences to the families of those reportedly killed in the incident.
The development comes as political activities begin to gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, with renewed calls for security agencies to investigate reported attacks and ensure that all political parties can operate without intimidation.
The Minister of Works and former Governor of Ebonyi State, Senator David Umahi, has declared that 2027 is not the South-East’s turn to produce Nigeria’s president, insisting that former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, is not the region’s best presidential candidate.
Umahi, who made the declaration during an interview with ARISE News on Friday, defended South-East political leaders supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, maintaining that their political choices should not be interpreted as betrayal of the Igbo presidential ambition.
“Peter Obi is not the best of our finest in South East. He’s not the best, he can never be the best,” Umahi declared.
The minister faulted Obi’s approach to the 2023 presidential election, alleging that he failed to adequately consult governors and other influential political stakeholders in the South-East before pursuing his ambition.
“You cannot play politics in South East without consulting people like us,” he maintained.
According to Umahi, any presidential aspirant seeking to represent the collective aspirations of the region must first engage critical stakeholders and build the necessary political consensus.
He argued that Obi’s performance in the 2023 presidential election did not automatically make him the South-East’s most qualified presidential candidate, stressing that the region boasts several other capable political figures.
Umahi also questioned why Anambra State should be given preferential consideration whenever the opportunity arises for the South-East to produce Nigeria’s president.
Citing Nigeria’s first President, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, who hailed from the area now constituting Anambra State, the minister maintained that Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia and Imo states equally deserve consideration in future presidential arrangements.
On the growing support for Tinubu among South-East political leaders ahead of 2027, Umahi dismissed allegations that those backing the president had abandoned the region’s political interests.
He insisted that the South-East’s path to the presidency lies in strategic negotiations, consensus-building and alliances with other geopolitical zones rather than presenting loyalty to Obi as the ultimate test of commitment to the Igbo cause.
The former Ebonyi governor had earlier challenged comparisons between himself and Obi during a political engagement in Benin City in September, declaring that he saw no area in which the former Anambra governor was superior to him.
While expressing confidence that the South-East would eventually produce Nigeria’s president, Umahi maintained that the region’s opportunity had not yet arrived, insisting that “it is not yet our turn.”
Politics
2027: APGA, APC Set for Joint Meeting in Anambra to Mobilise Support for Tinubu’s Re-election
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State have scheduled a joint meeting for November 1 to strengthen collaboration and mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The planned meeting comes amid claims that the two parties are not working together in the state to advance Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
The meeting, convened by Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, in his capacity as the state coordinator for Tinubu’s re-election campaign, is expected to bring together leaders and members of both parties, including serving and former political officeholders and members of their respective national and state working committees.
The APC State Chairman, Senator Emma Anosike, also confirmed the meeting, telling reporters that he would lead members of his party to attend the gathering.
The development is expected to counter claims of disunity between the two parties over the president’s re-election project in Anambra State.
According to an announcement dated October 22 and signed by Dr Ben Nwankwo, Chief of Staff to the Governor and Coordinator of the Secretariat for the Presidential Campaign Council in Anambra State, the meeting will take place at the International Convention Centre, Awka.
Proceedings are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., while accreditation will commence at 10 a.m. Participants have been directed to arrive early, as the doors will be closed once the meeting begins.
Attendance is restricted to duly accredited invitees drawn from designated categories of political officeholders, party officials and other stakeholders who remain members of APGA or APC.
Those invited include serving and former governors and deputy governors of Anambra State; members of the national, zonal and state working committees of both parties; and serving and former members of the National and State Assemblies from the state.
All APGA and APC candidates for the 2027 general elections who are members of either party have also been invited.
Other participants expected at the meeting include serving and former political appointees in the state and federal governments, members of the PBAT/APC Presidential Campaign Council from Anambra State, as well as serving and former elected local government chairmen, mayors and transition committee chairmen affiliated with either party.
The invitation list also covers current and former members of the boards of trustees of APGA and APC from Anambra State, coordinators of Tinubu support groups, and serving local government chairmen, secretaries, women leaders and youth leaders of the two parties.
Elected councillors, ward chairmen of APGA and APC, as well as members of the state working committees of the Accord Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are also listed among the invitees.
The announcement further stated that selected stakeholders nominated by the state chairmen of APGA and APC, alongside individuals nominated by the state coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council, would attend the meeting.
It explained that the notice was intended to ensure that all eligible stakeholders were informed of the gathering, adding that anyone who falls within the specified categories would be deemed invited.
The joint meeting is expected to provide a platform for the two parties to coordinate their political activities in Anambra State ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Strengthen the headline and opening
Trim the lengthy invitation list
Make the report more neutral
…Unveils 17 Buses for Grassroots Mobilisation
…Expresses Confidence in Tinubu, Mbah’s Victory
Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, SAN, is set to unveil his grassroots mobilisation and political support group, As Tinubu and Mbah Move (ATM), ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister has also expressed confidence in the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah.
Udeh disclosed this on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, during a strategy meeting at the group’s secretariat, where he unveiled 17 branded Toyota buses to support the movement’s grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections.
Addressing members, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria urged them to work towards securing victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly in the presidential and governorship elections.
He said the buses were provided to facilitate mobilisation and strengthen the movement’s presence across communities, wards and polling units.
Expressing confidence in the electoral prospects of Tinubu and Mbah, Udeh said the movement must distinguish itself from political groups that generate publicity without translating their activities into electoral gains.
“I want this group to be different so that it will not end in noise-making. The aim is to make APC win from top to bottom, especially the President and the Governor,” he said.
He charged members to take responsibility for delivering their respective polling units and wards, stressing that grassroots engagement remained crucial to electoral success.
“Politics is local. Everybody should work to ensure that APC wins in their respective wards and polling units,” he added.
Udeh explained that ATM was established to provide members with a platform to connect with political leaders and contribute to the activities of the party.
According to him, active participation in grassroots mobilisation could also create opportunities for members to engage government officials and seek assistance in addressing challenges facing their communities.
The minister, who described himself as not being a career politician, said integrity and the fulfilment of commitments were central to his dealings with people.
He also pledged to spend more time in the South-East during the campaign period to coordinate the movement’s activities.
Earlier, the ATM Coordinator, Igboke Onyebuchi, said the meeting was convened to establish and ratify the movement’s structures ahead of the planned commencement of local government-level mobilisation in November.
Onyebuchi described ATM as a political movement rather than an ordinary group, explaining that some members were motivated by their desire to support Governor Mbah and acknowledge his role in Udeh’s ministerial appointment.
“We are doing this to support the governor for giving such a smart young person the opportunity to be a minister. This has not happened in recent times,” he said.
He explained that the movement comprised community mobilisers, union leaders and individuals from the civic space, many of whom were not career politicians but were willing to contribute to the political process.
According to him, ATM plans to adopt an innovative, community-based approach to mobilisation, focusing on reaching rural residents and strengthening the APC’s existing grassroots structures.
He added that a community map had been developed to guide the movement’s engagement with residents.
Onyebuchi thanked Udeh for providing members with a platform to participate in the political process, expressing hope that the movement would encourage greater political opportunities for young people with strong professional and intellectual backgrounds.
Politics
One Feared Dead, Several Injured as Thugs Attack Ebonyi NDC Assembly Candidate, Burn Campaign Vehicle
…Ebonyi Democratic Movement Blames Police Commissioner, Demands Immediate Redeployment
The campaign convoy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Ezza South State Constituency in the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Barr. Rollins Offia Nwali, has reportedly come under armed attack at two separate locations in Amaezekwe Community, Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, leaving one person feared dead and several others injured.
The attackers, suspected to be political thugs, also reportedly set ablaze a 2024 Toyota Hilux vehicle belonging to the campaign convoy.
According to preliminary accounts, trouble began when Nwali, who was scheduled to meet with his polling unit canvassers, received information that some government officials allegedly accompanied by armed hoodlums had stormed the meeting venue.
The officials reportedly warned that they had received orders from above to prevent opposition candidates from holding campaign activities during the swearing-in ceremonies of local government chairmen in the state.
Sensing danger, Nwali reportedly directed his convoy to turn back a few metres from the venue.
However, suspected political thugs riding motorcycles and tricycles allegedly opened fire on the convoy, resulting in an exchange of gunfire involving security personnel, including operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) attached to the candidate.
About five persons reportedly sustained gunshot injuries, while one person was feared killed during the confrontation.
The casualty figures could not be independently verified.
In another attack a few metres away, a separate group of suspected hoodlums, reportedly operating in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle and tricycles, allegedly intercepted the retreating convoy, opened fire and set one of its Toyota Hilux vehicles ablaze.
A state government appointee was accused of leading the second group of attackers.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of the Ebonyi Democratic Movement, Chief Emmanuel Igwe Chidi, condemned the incident and accused the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police of failing to address what he described as recurring political violence against opposition figures in the state.
Igwe alleged that the failure of the police to prosecute individuals previously implicated in electoral violence, despite several petitions submitted to the state command and the Inspector-General of Police, had emboldened suspected political thugs.
He recalled that the movement had earlier organised a nationwide protest over alleged persecution of opposition members and the deteriorating security situation in Ebonyi State.
The EBM chairman consequently called on the Inspector-General of Police to immediately redeploy the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, arguing that the measure had become necessary to restore public confidence in the neutrality of the police ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He also demanded a comprehensive investigation into the Amaezekwe attacks, insisting that all those found culpable must be identified and prosecuted irrespective of their political affiliations or positions in government.
Igwe further urged security agencies to guarantee adequate protection for opposition candidates and their supporters, stressing that no government official or political interest has the authority to prevent citizens from exercising their constitutional rights to political participation.
He warned that democracy would be endangered if political competition was allowed to degenerate into intimidation, gunfire and destruction of property rather than being determined through the ballot box.
The allegations against government officials and the police, as well as the circumstances surrounding the reported death, remain unverified. The accounts provided did not include responses from the Ebonyi State Government or the Police Command.
Separate reported facts from allegations
Tighten the casualty and attack sequence
Use a more legally cautious headline
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