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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.

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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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Court to Begin Hearing ADC Leadership Dispute on September 30

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The Federal High Court in Abuja is set to commence hearings on September 30 in a case involving a leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The suit, filed by Nafiu Bala, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman, challenges the appointment of former Senate President David Mark as interim National Chairman and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as interim National Secretary.

Respondents in the case include the ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and former ADC National Chairman Ralph Nwosu.

At Monday’s proceedings, plaintiff’s lawyer Michael Agber informed Justice Emeka Nwite that court documents had been served on Mark and Aregbesola through the ADC’s office. The ADC’s counsel, Shuaib Aruwan (SAN), clarified that he represents only the party, not the individual respondents.

Justice Nwite adjourned the hearing, directing that all respondents be properly served with court processes.

Earlier on September 4, the court denied Nafiu Bala’s request for an immediate injunction against Mark and Aregbesola but ordered that all parties be notified to respond.

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INEC Says 157 Associations Fail Party Registration

The electoral body stressed that the interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified associations had been invited to a briefing next Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared that 157 out of 171 associations, which applied to be registered as political parties, failed registration requirements.

In a statement, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, said that only 14 associations met the requirements, and they had been cleared to proceed to the next stage of the registration process.

The electoral body stressed that the interim chairmen and secretaries of the pre-qualified associations had been invited to a briefing next Wednesday at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

The 14 associations that scaled the first hurdle, according to INEC, were African Transformation Party (ATP), All Democratic Alliance (ADA), Advance Nigeria Congress (ANC), Abundance Social Party (ASP), African Alliance Party (APP), Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA).

Others were Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Grassroots Initiative Party (GRIP), Green Future Party (GFP), Liberation Peoples Party (LPP), National Reform Party (NRP), Patriotic Peoples Alliance (PPA), and Peoples Freedom Party (PFP).

The associations that failed to meet the requirements included African Alliance Party (AAP), National Advancement Party (NAP), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC),

The Nigerian Covenant (TNC), Democracy for Dividends Party (DDP), National Coalition of Democrats, African Renaissance Party (ARP), Peoples Interest Movement (PIM), Rescue Party (RP), and Guardian Democratic Party (GDP).

Also on the list, INEC said, were Save Nigeria Congress (SNC), National Democratic Liberation Party (NDLP), National Action Congress of Nigeria (NACN), Peoples Supremacy Party, African Future Alliance (AFAP) Party, Freedom Alliance Party (FAP), and People’s Community Development Party (PCDP).

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INEC clears ADC party for 2027 election

With this formal endorsement, the ADC leadership is expected to commence a nationwide reconciliation and mobilisation effort, as the party seeks to strengthen its presence across the country ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday recognised Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

News Tellers report that alongside Mark and Aregbesola, other principal officers now officially acknowledged by INEC include Dr. Ibrahim Mani as National Treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as National Financial Secretary, and Professor Oserheimen Aigberaodion Osunbor as National Legal Adviser.

The Commission had since posted the names coalition executives on its website.

With this formal endorsement, the ADC leadership is expected to commence a nationwide reconciliation and mobilisation effort, as the party seeks to strengthen its presence across the country ahead of the 2027 general elections.

David Mark had emerged as interim National Chairman last July at an elaborate ceremony held at Yar’Adua Conference Centre in Abuja, following the resignation of the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Ralph Nwosu.

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