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 ”
Politics
Dele Momodu Leaves PDP for ADC
His defection to the ADC marks a significant shift in Edo State’s political landscape, and adds momentum to the ongoing realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.

• Dele Momodu
Veteran journalist , Aare Dele Momodu has formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing what he described as the hijacking of the party by antidemocratic forces.
In a letter dated July 17, 2025, and addressed to the PDP Ward 4 Chairman in Ihievbe, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, Momodu said his decision to leave the party was taken with immediate effect.
“My reason is simple and straightforward,” the letter reads. “Our party has been unarguably hijacked by antidemocratic forces, from within and outside, in broad daylight.
It is therefore honorable to abandon the carcass of the party to them while the majority of us earnestly sign up with the new coalition party known as the African Democratic Congress (ADC).”
Momodu, a former presidential aspirant on the PDP platform and publisher of Ovation International, expressed gratitude to the party leadership at the ward level for their consistent support over the years.
His defection to the ADC marks a significant shift in Edo State’s political landscape, and adds momentum to the ongoing realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Politics
Which Is Better : Should Nigeria Continue Operating Military Imposed Constitution or Formulate New Democratic Constitution ?
The theme of the summit is: “Actualising a constitutional democracy that works for all in Nigeria.”

• Olusegun Obasanjo and Emeka Anyaoku
Former Commonwealth Secretary- General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, shared perspectives on whether or not Nigeria should have a new constitution.
They spoke in Abuja, yesterday , during the opening of a three-day emergency national constitutional summit organised by a group of eminent Nigerians operating under the umbrella of the Patriots.
The theme of the summit is: “Actualising a constitutional democracy that works for all in Nigeria.”
While Anyaoku believes Nigeria needs a new, pluralistic Constitution, Obasanjo said that no such document is perfect and that it is the operators that matter.
Anyaoku dismissed the 1999 Constitution, currently in operation, as a military imposition.
The Chair of the Patriots believes that the country’s pluralistic nature requires a new constitution.To Anyaoku, the present 36 federating units have proven incapable of driving development, adding that 65 years after independence, Nigeria has become the world capital of poverty.
He said: “Nigeria is a pluralistic country, and like all successful pluralistic countries around the world, for its stability and maximal development, its constitution must address its problems.
“Second, it must address its pluralism by being formulated by elected representatives of its diverse people.
“Our present 1999 Constitution, as amended, is not such a constitution. It was not democratically formulated.
“It was instead imposed on the country through a decree by the military administration.
“And the governance system derived from it is not only non-inclusive, but also induces over-expectation of the nation’s resources on administration rather than on capital development.
“As a result, what we see is our nation’s need for a new constitution.
“There is the need for a new constitution, but this is a matter to be made by the people of our country.”
He called for “a constitution that would be in sync with the Constitution of the United States, a constitution of successful pluralistic countries around the world”.
Anyaoku added: “To those who say that the fate of a country depends primarily on its leadership, I say that the Constitution from which the system of governance is derived largely determines the character of the people who get elected or appointed to govern the country from the three arms of the government.”
On the other hands, Obasanjo said said that Nigeria doesn’t need a new constitution but rather needs the right operators of the constitution.
Represented by the Secretary-General of Eminent Patriots, Mr Olawale Okunniyi, the former President agreed that while a constitution must reflect the history, the constituents and the aspirations of a people, “no constitution is perfect.”
Obasanjo said: “From my experience in operating our constitution, I will be the first to point out some areas that need amendment.
However, for me, no constitution can ever be regarded as perfect.
“But whatever the strength or weakness of a constitution, the most important issue, to my understanding and experience, is the operators of the constitution.
“The best constitution can be perverted and distorted by the operators, and we have experienced that all over Africa, Nigeria is not exempt.
“I am more concerned about the operators of the constitution to lead in good governance and promotion of welfare and wellbeing of the citizenry.“No matter what you do to the Nigerian constitution, if the operators of the constitution, for the past one decade and a half, remain unchanged and continue in the same manner, the welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians will continue to be sacrificed on the altar of selfishness.”
Politics
BREAKING NEWS: Atiku Abubakar Resigns from PDP
As a founding father of this esteemed party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.

Atiku Abubakar, Vice President 1999 -2007/ PDP presidential flag bearer in the 2023 election , on Wednesday, resigned his membership of the People’s Democratic Party.
Atiku declared his membership resignation in a letter dated Tuesday, July 14, 2025, addressed to the Chairman of PDP Jada 1 , Jada LGA, Adamawa.
It reads:
“I write to formally resign my membership of the PDP with immediate effect.I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the opportunities I have been given by the party, to served two terms as Vice President of Nigeria and being a presidential candidate twice has been one of the most significant chapters of my life.
As a founding father of this esteemed party, it is indeed heartbreaking for me to make this decision.
However, I find it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which I believe diverges from the foundational principles which we stood for.It is with a heavy heart that I resigned, recognizing the irreconcilable differences that have emerged.
I wish the party and its leadership all the best in the future.”
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