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.
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 ”
News
Adewale Leads APC E-Registration in Lagos, Earns Praise from Party Leaders
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has intensified its digital membership modernisation efforts as Comrade Ayodele Adewale led the high, level Train-the-Trainer session for the ongoing E-Registration exercise on Tuesday 18 November 2025.

Comrade Adewale, who serves as the APC Lagos State Organising Secretary and also doubles as the State Coordinator for the E-Registration training and registration exercise, has been central to coordinating the digital rollout across the state’s 20 Local Government Areas, positioning Lagos as a leading example in the party’s nationwide technological transition from analog to digital.

The training, held on Tuesday, 18th November 2025 at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos State Secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja, brought together senatorial administrators and strategic stakeholders who will be responsible for executing the digital membership exercise across the state.
In attendance were Dr. Seriki Muritala, APC Lagos State Youth Leader and Lagos East Senatorial E-Registration Administrator covering the Kosofe and Ikorodu axis; Mr. Opeoluwa Adebonu-Topronu, Lagos West II Senatorial E-Registration Administrator covering the Alimosho and Ikeja axis; Alhaji Sharafadeen Ibrahim, Lagos West I Senatorial E-Registration Administrator covering the Badagry axis; Mr. Abdul Waliu Balogun, Lagos East Senatorial E-Registration Administrator overseeing the Lekki and Epe axis; and Mr. Patrick Oyadina, Lagos Central Senatorial E-Registration Administrator covering the Lagos West senatorial axis.

A high-powered delegation of senior APC leaders attended the session to demonstrate the party’s strong institutional backing for the exercise. The delegation was led by Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi (OON), Deputy Chairman of the Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), alongside other respected GAC leaders including Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State and former APC State Chairman; Chief Henry Oladele Ajomale, former Commissioner for Special Duties and former APC State Chairman; Chief Tunde Balogun, former Commissioner for Home Affairs and former APC State Chairman; Alhaji Mutiu Are, Secretary of the GAC; and Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, APC Lagos State Woman Leader and GAC member.

Also present was Hon. Engr. Sesan Olowa, Executive Chairman of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government and Chairman of the Conference of the 57 Local Government and Local Council Development Area Chairmen and Women in Lagos State, who attended with all LGA/LCDA Chairmen and Women; Hon. L. A. Dally-Adeokun, Chairman of all APC Party Chairmen and Women in Lagos State, likewise led all party Chairmen and Women to the programme.Comrade Adewale educated attendees on the critical importance of the APC digital registration exercise, emphasizing that it will enhance effective planning and mobilisation, improve demographic identification, strengthen party members’ financial contribution structures, facilitate the seamless conduct of party primaries, and provide a platform for efficient information dissemination and strategic decision making.

He highlighted that the session marks the first phase of a structured capacity building cascade. His team is scheduled to train all 20 APC Local Government Supervisors on Tuesday, 25th November 2025, after which these supervisors will train APC ward agents responsible for membership registration across the wards.

He encouraged party leaders, especially LG/LCDA chairmen and APC party chairmen, to mobilise members effectively and ensure they come fully prepared for the digital exercise. He reiterated the need for all members to have their NIN and Voter’s Card ready as valid means of identification and qualification for registration.
Comrade Adewale emphasized that, given the high population of APC members in Lagos State, the state is poised to produce five million and more registered members, which will be the highest in the country.

Dr. Seriki Muritala also registered Alhaji Mutiu Are, Secretary of the GAC, as the first person to be registered at the ward level in Lagos State during the E-Registration test sample session.
Senior party leaders including Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, APC Lagos State Chairman; Chief Henry Oladele Ajomale; Prince Tajudeen Olusi and others praised Comrade Adewale and his team for their efficiency, organisational skill and attention to detail.
They described Adewale’s presentation as highly educational and enlightening; they commended the competence of his team and expressed satisfaction with their dedication to the exercise. The leaders reaffirmed Lagos State’s readiness to complete the E-Registration training exercise before the end of November, describing Lagos State as a model state in the APC’s nationwide digital transformation agenda.
Prior to the E-registration exercise and training, Lagos State was among six South-Western states trained on the 3rd and 4th of October 2025 by APC consultants and senior officials from the APC ICT Department in Abuja, led by Dr. Umar Majigi, Head of APC Headquarters ICT Department, during a specialized workshop held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja.
The statewide E-registration exercise was formally flagged off in Lagos State by Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

The ceremony was attended by prominent members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), led by Dr. Ajibola Bashiru, PhD.
With strong leadership backing, comprehensive organisational structure and coordinated training across all levels, the APC Lagos E-Registration training exercise continues to gather momentum, placing the state firmly on track to deliver one of the most advanced, accurate and extensive digital membership database within the Nigerian political landscape.
Politics
ADC Launches National Mobilisation Office in Jos, Urges Youth Participation
Senior officials from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have inaugurated a new National Mobilisation Office in the central city of Jos, Plateau State, in a move signalling the party’s intensified preparations for future elections.
The high-profile event on Thursday saw party leaders, including prominent figures like former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, rallying supporters and directly addressing the nation’s youth.
The new office in Jos is designated as a central hub for the party’s grassroots recruitment and strategy efforts, a key part of the ADC’s plan to position itself as a viable third force in the Nigerian political landscape.
A central theme of the unveiling was the role of young Nigerians in governance. In a speech that drew cheers from the crowd, former Governor El-Rufai delivered a forceful message, encouraging the youth to take an active role in shaping the country’s future.
“We can no longer sit on the sidelines and complain,” Mr. El-Rufai was quoted as saying. “The energy, innovation, and passion of our young people are the nation’s greatest untapped resource.
This mobilisation office is not just a building; it is a call to action. It is here to harness that potential and channel it into meaningful political change.
“He emphasised that the ADC provides a platform for a new generation of leaders disillusioned with the established political order.
Other national officials present at the event described the choice of Jos, the capital of the politically significant “Middle Belt” region, as a strategic one.
They stated it underscores the party’s commitment to national outreach and building a broad-based coalition.
“The unveiling of this office in the heart of Nigeria is a clear statement of intent,” said one party chairman.
“We are building from the ground up, and we are starting here, listening to the people and addressing their specific needs.
“The ADC Plateau state has been working to increase national profile, and the establishment of a dedicated mobilisation office, backed by high-level figures, is seen as a concrete step in that direction.
Political analysts suggest that attracting well-known personalities like El-Rufai and focusing on youth engagement could help the party build the momentum it needs to challenge Nigeria’s two dominant parties in upcoming electoral cycles.
The event concluded with a rally, where supporters expressed optimism that the new office would mark a turning point for the party.
Politics
Police Seals PDP WADATA House with Barbwires
This was sequel to the leadership tussle within the opposition party, with rival factions led by Wike and Makinde, laying claim to the control of the National Working Committee (NWC)
FCT Police on Wednesday shut down the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) untill further notice.
This was sequel to the leadership tussle within the opposition party, with rival factions laying claim to the control of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Police personnel are also stationed there to enforce the closure while staff have been sent away from the Secretariat, while party members are not expected to come to the place.
A team of police officers apparently from the works department of the FCT Police Command were seen barricading the place with iron barb wires.
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