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Peter Obi Is An Election Merchant, He Doesn’t Have An Ideology — Salihu Lukman

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Salihu Lukman, the All Progressives Congress (APC) national vice-chairman (north-west), has described Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour (LP), as an “election merchant”.

In a statement on Sunday, Lukman, a former director-general of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), said being a political merchant connotes an individual who is not loyal to any political party.

Lukman said Obi is not bothered about the issues affecting his party, owing to the fact that there has been a dispute about its leadership.

“In terms of the person of Peter Obi, so far, his characteristics are that of a typical Nigerian politician who is more of an election merchant presenting himself every four years for election, even if it means changing political party,” he said.

“Being an election merchant connotes an obvious lack of commitment and discipline to be loyal to any political party. This partly explains why Obi moved from All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now LP between 2015 and now.

“What is the guarantee that his candidature of LP also bears a commitment to develop the LP and get it to overcome all its challenges? Noting that it is public knowledge that LP has been embroiled in a leadership crisis, how is Obi using his campaign to negotiate the resolution of the LP crisis?

“From a distant point of view, Obi is in fact indifferent to the crisis facing LP.”

Lukman said Nigeria does not need any politician who changes political parties frequently to get into office.

“Without prejudice to my respect for Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, they are both in the same category as Obi,” he said.

“Atiku has been either a presidential candidate or aspirant in every election in different parties since 2007.

“Kwankwaso has moved from PDP to APC, back to PDP between 2015 and 2019, before finally forming New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in 2022 and presenting himself as the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 election.”

Lukman said he is confident that Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of APC, would build on the legacy of President Muhammadu Buhari.

BIG STORY

Peter Obi Did Well For Us In Labor Party, But I’ve Won Election Before In Abia Without Him —  Alex Otti

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Abia state governor-elect, Alex Otti said he had won governorship election in the state in the past without Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

Otti stated this in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday.

The Abia state governor-elect, however, acknowledged that Obi contributed to his election victory.

According to him, it’s on record that he won the 2015 governorship election in the state without Obi’s support.

Otti said, “In 2015 when I ran under APGA, there was no Peter Obi. And we have it on our record that I won that election. At the time we were joining Labour Party, Peter Obi had not joined.

“It took about a week before called me and said that he purchased the presidential nomination form and he was coming to Labour Party.

“We were prepared to fight the way we fought in 2015. The votes we garnered in Abia could have been had but maybe the margin could have been smaller. That is why it’s always good to acknowledge Peter Obi. He came to Abia about four times to campaign for us.

“I think he had done well for us. That is why even the first election out of the eight House of Representatives seats we took six and sent some people on permanent retirement.

“Peter Obi is a great addition to our campaign, but I can tell you that we won an election before in Abia without him.”

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Wednesday, declared Otti winner of the March 18 governorship poll in Abia state.

Otti polled a total of 175, 467 votes defeat his closest rival, Chief Okey Ahiwe of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party who scored 88,529 votes.

Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Peoples Party, YPP, came third with 28,972 votes.

Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, Professor Nnenna Oti, subsequently declared Otti the Governor-elect having polled the highest number of votes and satisfied all necessary conditions.

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Runaway Nigerian Nurse Arrested In Lagos, Extradited To US For Trial Over Fraud

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A convicted Nigerian fugitive, Florence Enwerim Onyegbu, was on Thursday, extradited to the United States of America, where she is wanted to answer to criminal charges bordering on the violation of the U.S. law involving the offer and payment of illegal remuneration in a health care matter.

Onyegbu‘s extradition was coordinated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, following a request by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI,  seeking assistance for her apprehension.

The EFCC said its investigations revealed that she had changed her name from Florence E. Onyegbu to Janet Boi in an attempt to remain hidden.

But that she however ran out of luck when operatives of the EFCC swooped on her at her residence in the Ojodu area of Lagos on February 21, 2022.

The anti-graft agency said that upon her arrest, a national identity card with the name Janet Boi as well as a Texas driver’s license with the name Florence Enwerim Onyegbu were found on her.

The Commission, on March 22, 2023, handed over Onyegbu to the FBI, following an extradition order granted by Justice Z.B. Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on December 2, 2022.

It will be recalled that Onyegbu’s travails began after she was arrested on February 12, 2011 in the U.S. and subsequently sentenced to 46 months imprisonment, following a guilty plea , over the violation of the U.S. law bordering on the offer and payment of illegal remuneration in a health care matter.

Although she was ordered to report for service of her sentence on April 4, 2011, she failed to surrender on that date.

Consequently, she was further charged with failure to surrender for service of sentence in violation of U.S. Law on March 4, 2013.

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JUST IN: CBN Directs Banks To Open On Saturday, Sunday

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed the evacuation of banknotes from its vaults to commercial banks across the country as part of a coordinated effort to ease the circulation of banknotes of various denominations.

The CBN has also directed all commercial banks to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Isa AbdulMumin, disclosed this in Abuja, on Friday, stating that a substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the commercial banks for onward circulation to their respective customers.

According to him, the CBN had directed all banks to load their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) as well as conduct physical operations in the banking halls through the weekends.

“Branches of commercial banks will operate on Saturdays and Sundays to attend to customers’ cash needs,” he noted, adding that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, would personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient as the current situation would ease soon with the injection of more banknotes into circulation.

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