Politics

Why Sanwo-Olu is Angry with Peter Obi •What Peter Obi Says At Johns Hopkins University

I also find Mr. Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing. When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively.

Published

9 months ago

April 28, 2025

OhiBaba

407 Views

Lagos State Governor , Babajide Sanwo-Olu has lashed out at Mr Peter Obi, of the Labour Party, regarding his recent comments on Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu.

Sanwo-Olu reacted on his X, titled ‘Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,’ urges Mr Obi to bridle his tongue by not speaking injuriously about his country and the current leadership under President Tinubu.

The statement reads:

“On Thursday, April 24, 2025, former Governor Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate for the 2023 election, was at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he made several disparaging comments about Nigeria.

He made the unflattering remarks not just about the incumbent Nigerian government, but also about Nigeria.

I also find Mr. Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing. When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively.

They do not have to do that for the government. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than de-market her.

On Thursday, April 24, 2025, former Governor Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate for the 2023 election, was at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he made several disparaging comments about Nigeria.

That is what true patriotism is about. Because Mr. Obi focused on poverty and said that the current administration’s policies are making Nigerians poorer, I will concentrate on that.

Any leader can fight poverty generationally by promoting education, improving healthcare, providing credit, and granting access to land.

Now, I find it somewhat ironic that a man like Mr. Obi, who did not build a single school or a stand alone hospital throughout his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra or sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise the Government of Nigeria, which is actively doing that.

I say this because the President of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is my predecessor, and as Governor of Lagos and now President of Nigeria, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

In less than two years, he has provided over half a billion dollars in credit facilities to small and medium-scale enterprises. While he was Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, the President reduced poverty by more than 46%.

There is every reason to believe that, based on what he did as Governor of Lagos, he will repeat the same feat at the federal level. After all, the best predictor of the future is the past.

But let us examine the messenger, not just the message, and look at the issuer as well as the issues. Mr. Obi talks a good game. But was he able to reduce poverty while he governed Anambra?

Perhaps we can let the facts speak for themselves. Under Peter Obi as a two term Anambra Governor, poverty in Anambra increased.

It did not reduce. Before Peter Obi became Anambra Governor on Thursday, June 14, 2007, the poverty rate in Anambra was 41.4%.

But after only two years in office, the poverty rate in Anambra jumped to 53.7%.

But the interesting thing is that five years after Peter Obi left office, his successor, Willie Obiano, reduced the poverty rate in Anambra from almost 60% to 14.8%.

As such, I am not sure that Mr. Obi is morally well placed to make the alarming claims he made about Nigeria at Johns Hopkins.

Mr. Obi contributed to the increase in poverty in Nigeria. Governor Tinubu, as he then was, was responsible for lifting millions out of poverty.

Being that that is the case, who should criticise who?”

WHAT PETER OBI SAID AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

At Johns Hopkins University, USA, Peter Obi was invited to speak on “Politics and Change in Nigeria” from Professor Peter Lewis, the famous author of “Growing Apart: comparing Indonesia and Nigeria”.

Peter Obi commented on his X: In discussing this very critical issue, which directly impacts the direction of a nation, I pointed out that the failure of a nation depends largely on its Political Leadership. Competent, capable and compassionate political leadership, with integrity, will help nations to achieve sustainable growth and development.

In my speech, I tried to assess 3 of our comparable nations – China, Vietnam and Indonesia, from 1990 till date.
In 1990, the year the measurement of the Human Development Index (HDI) was started, these 3 comparable nations, including Nigeria, were all classified under the medium category of the HDI measurement. 35 years later, 3 of these nations have moved up to the High category of HDI while Nigeria has fallen into the low category.

Within the same period of 35 years, from 1990 to 2025, the GDP Per Capita of these comparable nations have all improved. As of 1990, while Nigeria had a GDP per capita of $556, China had $317, Indonesia had $578, and Vietnam had only $99.

Nigeria, obviously, had higher GDP per capita than China, while Vietnam had less than one-fifth of Nigeria’s per capita.

Today, Nigeria’s per capita is about one-fifth of Indonesia’s ($5000) and Vietnam’s (4400) GDP per capita and below one-tenth of China’s (1300) GDP per capita.

In the area of poverty, Nigeria with about 50 million poor people, had the least number of people in poverty in 1990 than any of the three countries.

While China had about 750 million people living in poverty, Indonesia and Vietnam had 85 million and 60 million poor people, respectively.

China alone had about 15 times the number of poor people than Nigeria.

Today, however, Nigeria has more poor people than these 3 countries combined.

The question then is, what exactly did these countries do to be able to achieve the desired growth and development?

That is where political leadership comes in. These comparable nations, and indeed other progressive nations, unlike Nigeria, have competent leadership with character, capacity and compassion, committed to prioritizing investment in critical areas of developmental measures; Education, Health, and pulling people out of poverty.

A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO ”

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Atiku: “I bear no grudges against PDP Members’ Defectors to APC “

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Politics

Atiku reacts to his son’s defection to APC ” It’s personal to him”

“In a democracy, such choices are neither unusual nor alarming, even when family and politics intersect. As a democrat, I do not coerce my own children in matters of conscience, and I certainly will not coerce Nigerians.”

Published

13 hours ago

January 16, 2026

OCHEFA

18 Views

The former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to his son’s defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, , saying ” It’s his personal choice.”

Atiku’s son, Abba Abubakar, defected from the PDP to the ruling APC, and pledged to work for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Reacting in a statement, Atiku said: “The decision of my son, Abba Abubakar, to join the APC is entirely personal.

“What truly concerns me is the poor governance of the APC and the severe economic and social hardships it has imposed on our people.

“I remain resolute in working with like-minded patriots to restore good governance and offer Nigerians a credible alternative that brings relief, hope, and progress.”

Politics

SHOCKING: Atiku’s Son Abba defects to APC, Pledges Support For Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election

Published

20 hours ago

January 15, 2026

Charles Flames

17 Views

In a surprising development that has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s political landscape, Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, popularly known as Abba and son of former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The announcement was made on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at the National Assembly in Abuja, where Abba was warmly received by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, alongside key APC leaders from the North-East zone, including the party’s National Vice Chairman (North-East), Comrade Mustapha Salihu.

Abba, who founded the political platform Haske Atiku Organisation in 2022 to support his father’s 2023 presidential bid, declared his resignation from the PDP as a personal and historic decision. He cited his conviction in the leadership of Senator Barau Jibrin and the performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration as key factors influencing his move.

“My name is Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, but everyone calls me Abba. I am here today to formally announce my exit from my former party, where we worked in 2023, and my decision to join the APC,” he stated.

He further pledged full commitment to mobilizing support for President Tinubu’s second-term ambition in 2027, directing all coordinators and members of his former organization to immediately align with the APC and advance the Renewed Hope Agenda.

“With this development, I will work with Senator Barau to actualise the second-term bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. To this effect, I am directing all coordinators of my association to join the APC and work for President Tinubu,” Abba added.

In a symbolic high point of the event, the Haske Atiku Organisation was officially renamed the Haske Bola Tinubu Organisation, signaling a complete realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Welcoming the defector, Senator Barau described the move as bold, wise, and principled, noting that Abba — who had been monitoring developments from the United States — was impressed by the Tinubu administration’s reforms.

“You have taken a decision based on ideology. You did not come here because of your father. You came because you believe in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his ideology, and the Renewed Hope Agenda,” Barau remarked.

APC National Vice Chairman (North-East) Comrade Mustapha Salihu hailed the defection as symbolic and reflective of “politics without borders,” assuring Abba of equal opportunities within the party. A presidential aide, Alhaji Mahmoud Abdullahi, welcomed him as a “homecoming,” stating, “Just like Atiku, Tinubu is also your father.

Your decision guarantees a future in this party.

“Abba’s political structure and grassroots network are seen by APC leaders as a significant boost to the party’s consolidation efforts in the North ahead of 2027.

The development comes amid ongoing realignments in Nigerian politics, with the APC positioning itself strongly for continuity and the opposition grappling with internal dynamics.

Politics

Lagos Emerges as APC E-Registration Epicenter

Published

3 days ago

January 13, 2026

Charles Flames

41 Views

Lagos State has emerged as a major force in the ongoing nationwide electronic membership registration exercise of the All Progressives Congress (APC), rapidly closing the gap with frontrunner Delta State and positioning itself to take the lead within days.

Party leaders disclosed this development on Tuesday following a high-level national strategic stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, where performance reports from across the federation were reviewed by the party’s national leadership.

After returning to Lagos, Comrade Prince Ayodele Adewale, APC E-Registration Coordinator and APC Lagos State Organising Secretary, praised party members across the state for their unprecedented grassroots mobilisation and remarkable surge of political energy.

“The reports before us are highly encouraging. The energy on ground is visible and it is clear that the grassroots is awake, active and fully engaged,” Adewale said, noting that real-time data shows Lagos steadily building strong organic membership numbers in the highly competitive exercise.

According to him, Lagos State currently occupies second position on the national registration table, despite commencing its exercise only eight days ago, on Monday, 5 January 2026.

By contrast, Delta State, which currently leads, has been registering members consistently for the past 3 months.“With a little extra push, Lagos is clearly on the move.

This is a competitive race and the gap is closing rapidly,” Adewale stated.

He stressed that the window for consolidation remains open, with six hours left in the day and 18 days remaining in January 2026 before the registration exercise concludes, and urged party members to intensify mobilisation efforts across wards and local government areas.

“This is not the time to relax. Victory is not something we drift into; it is something we work for, deliberately and consistently, until the very end,” he added.

Adewale further revealed that he returned to Lagos on Tuesday, 13 January 2026, alongside the APC Lagos State Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, after participating in a national strategic meeting convened by the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda.

The Abuja meeting was chaired by the National Chairman and attended by the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, PhD, some members of the National Working Committee (NWC), some APC State Chairmen, State Organising Secretaries, E-Registration Coordinators and other critical stakeholders.

The forum provided an opportunity for the party to review operational challenges, assess nationwide progress, and align strategic action plans aimed at strengthening the APC’s organisational structure ahead of future electoral engagements.

Based on current projections and the pace of mobilisation in Lagos, party leaders expressed confidence that the state is on course to overtake Delta State by Wednesday or, at the latest, Saturday, 17 January 2026.

Observers say the Lagos surge underscores the state’s organisational depth and its historic role as a political mobilising hub for the APC.Concluding his remarks, Adewale urged party faithful to remain calm, disciplined and focused, noting that landmark achievements are built through sacrifice and persistence.

“Great victories are never built in comfort. There is always joy at the end of every struggle,” he said.