The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has denied receiving $150 million allegedly donated by Nigerians in the Diaspora for his campaign.
According to Obi, nobody has given him anything towards the presidential bid, dismissing the allegation as mere propaganda.
Obi, who is the former Anambra Governor, left Nigeria on 25 August to solicit support from Nigerians abroad.
“Nobody has given me anything. That is speculation. What I need is not what they would give me. But what they would give Nigeria, because we need them to turn around Nigeria.
“This is the energy, the capacity that we need to turn around Nigeria. Every country that was turned around, was done by the diaspora. Even in the Bible, Joseph who left later came back to feed his people.
“It is not campaign, it is consultation. I am consulting Nigerian diasporans to know why they should be involved in the Nigerian electoral process. And you can see from my conversation and everything that what I am doing is saying let’s get involved.
“They are the most critical components of turning around Nigeria. The investment Nigeria needs to turn around is Diasporans. If they believe in Nigeria and bring their resources, both in terms of their material, talent and energy, we will turn around the country.
“Nigeria 2023 election should not be based on ethnicity, religion, connection, ‘my turn’, or any bias. It must be on character, competence, capacity and determination to deal with the problems of Nigeria.”
Our Editor-In-Chief, Yusuf Ozi-Usman, who authored Standard Egbira-English Dictionary and participated in the translation of the Holy Qur’an into Egbira language, among others, took his time off to carefully translate the words spoken in Egbira language, by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, to the people of his country home, the Ihima community at a function, on Saturday, September 3, 2022. The speech has been twisted in many circles and has created controversies and generated outcries.
Because of the unique nature of the language, the translation slightly contravenes the English grammatical rules. The tail end of the speech is not included.
Please, read on:
God, God, God, it is you I always lean on, uptil now and till tomorrow. After calling God, we would call the gods: that is why I’m shouting (the name) of the gods of Ihima. After calling God, the Earth, the gods, we would call women. The right way to climb a tree is the right way (I am climbing it).
When you are doing the right thing, you would be courageous. (This is) the first time I’m stepping into the Technical College, first one in Ihima; the land of gods. Therefore, the good tidings we brought are the good that would follow us back to our houses. We will complete the beneficial project we brought (to Ihima) to its logical conclusion and will spread (the project) to Ihima crevices, as well as the Kogi State as a whole, with Nigeria benefiting (in one way or the other).
I want you to deny bad people the pleasure of enjoying their lies.
A few moments in the past, there was misunderstanding. I want (you) to prove that the Ihima we knew, are made up of people that love themselves; bring that glorious moment back and henceforth. I want you to show that Ihima people love themselves, and (I want you to) support Didat, who I chose to be the leader in Okehi, politically, in my cabinet. But administratively, the Executive chairman of Okehi local government area is number one. The two are working in synergy.
Before I continue, I heard a whisper from somewhere that (turned to singing) ‘our Ihima fellows, if I were to say, are the sensible, kind ones, why don’t we imitate them; the rest of Egbira people? Ihima insists that they love themselves. They don’t hate themselves.’
When this government came, I discovered that there was hatred (amongst the people). The issue of clan should not be used negatively. Even if you resort to clannish leaning, it should not be the basis for division, to the point of killing one another, as it was done in the past.
When this government came, we were constructing roads, providing water, electricity, schools, hospitals and the rest.
Other governments before my government did not achieve one-third of my achievements, especially, in Egbira land. It is a truism that if you don’t have executive power, even if you are a Senate President, you cannot do all such developmental infrastructure.
Therefore, the power which God gives me is meant to develop the state and in doing so, we have heard all sort of criticisms. Some of our detractors were pointing dangerous fingers at us. We ignored such criticisms that are not justified. I continued to caution my people to ignore such critics because they didn’t know what they were doing.
But from henceforth, we will not tolerate dangerous fingers being pointed at us. This time around, even a bad finger pointed at us from the distance, we will chop off such finger. We will seek God’s backing, put our feet firmly on the ground and call to the gods and cut off the finger. It is not because of us; it is because we will not allow anybody to take us back to the bad past. God will not allow it.
We must complete our good plans for the state. We will not beg anyone to ask us to do the good thing we set ourselves to achieve. We must do it.
Therefore, the upcoming politics (campaign) will be hot for those who want to prove difficult; the good ones have no problem. For those who want to play hot, I will personally give them fire. I will personally be in the forefront with firelight to touch the side of the body of such bad people. Whoever survives should thank God. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Before now, we used to appeal but now we are warning, not begging.
After seeing what we are doing and what we have achieved, whether you are a man or a woman or Egbira or none Egbira, and you don’t acknowledge them, I’m ready for such people squarely. I expect all the traditional rulers, who are the owners of the communities, to begin to call everybody in their domains to caution their children that are bad. No father should allow his child to call him, because when a child is calling his father, it is a sign of bad omen.
May God grant our prayers in Mosques, Churches and through herbalists for good thing for us, because what I wish for myself is good thing. My mother asked me all through her life to be doing good and that is what I will continue to do. My mother did not wish bad for other person’s child, so anyone who wishes me bad, such bad thing will go back to him. Such bad person will go and lie with my mother (in the grave) and be serving her till we join them.
I’m fully ready from now on. If I send a message through anybody and the person delivers wrong message, he will see the other side of me. Even if you murmur inside your room and I ask that you should be brought to me and whoever fails to bring you should be ready to be dealt with in lieu of you.
That’s why I am saying it loud and clear for all the people in Kogi. The bad people who are determined to continue in their bad ways, some of them older than me, will see the other side of me. Let them know that I can handle “weree Chimengwu” (reference to gun in a slang) more than them.
I want you to record and play this message, and send it far and wide to them to hear me out. We have done good things and will continue to do them. Those bad people want to continue in their old ways and if I cannot defend the good things I have done in Kogi, then I will consider myself a failure. And I am not a failure.
When it is time, we will hand over to whoever we like, for them to continue with our good work. Whoever has bad habit, no matter how small, should stop it or be ready to vomit it by force.
The Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation (AACO) has disowned an undated letter issued under the authority of a “Campaign Coordinator/ President” of a group calling itself the Atiku Abubakar Business Supporters in Diaspora (AABSID).
A statement from the Campaign Organisation today, September 6 quoted, the letter with title “Fundraising Dinner Event for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Presidential Election Campaign 2023,” saying that the letter asked potential donors and members of the general public to donate to the presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar, in exchange for unfettered access to Atiku Abubakar, among other promises.
The statement said that the Atiku Abubakar Business Supporters in Diaspora (AABSID)is a body or organisation that is not known to the Atiku.
“Neither he nor the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation has authorised any such fundraising event to be held on his behalf nor on behalf of his Campaign Organisation.
“The general public is hereby notified that the aforementioned Atiku Abubakar Business Supporters in Diaspora (AABSID) is not in any way affiliated or related to Atiku Abubakar and the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, and has not been mandated or authorised in any way whatsoever to represent the candidate or his campaign in any matter whatsoever.
“In line with the foregoing, any person or organisation dealing with the aforementioned Atiku Abubakar Business Supporters in Diaspora (AABSID) and/or its Campaign Coordinator/President or indeed with any other organization for the purposes of raising funds for our presidential candidate does so at their own risk and responsibility.
The governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello has made it clear that he is now prepared to give bloody nose to criminals, bad people and those who are inciting others against his government.
Speaking in Egbira language while addressing the people of Ihima in the State recently, Governor Yahaya Bello said that he had tolerated those who have been inciting people against his government in the past, but that this time around, he would not take it kindly.
He also asked the people in the State to caution and restrain their criminally minded children and others, warning that anyone harbouring such criminals and bad people would be grouped together for necessary actions.
Parts of the speech is translated hereunder:
I want you to deny bad people their falsehood. When you are doing good thing, you are courageous. A few years before now, there were some misunderstandings in the Ihima community but I want you to return to the glorious past where love reigned. Show clearly that Ihima is made up of people that love themselves.
When my government came, we insisted that we should not be hateful to one another; that we should not use clan as basis of division or for inter-relation amongst the people. When we came in, we began to construct roads, providing electricity, water, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. Other governments before my government did not achieve one-third of my achievements, especially, in Egbira land. It is a truism that if you don’t have executive power, even if you are a Senate President, you cannot do all such developmental infrastructure.
Therefore, the power which God gives me is meant to develop the state and in doing so, we have heard all sort of criticisms. Some of our detractors were pointing dangerous fingers at us. We ignored such criticisms that are not justified. I continued to caution my people to ignore such critics because they didn’t know what they were doing.
But from henceforth, we will not tolerate dangerous fingers being pointed at us. This time around, even a bad finger pointed at us from the distance, we will chop off such finger. We will seek God’s backing, put our feet firmly on the ground and call to the gods and cut off the finger. It is not because of us; it is because we will not allow anybody to take us back to the bad past. God will not allow it.
We must complete our good plans for the state. We will not beg anyone to ask us to do the good thing we set ourselves to achieve. We must do it.
Therefore, the upcoming politics (campaign) will be hot for those who want to prove difficult; the good ones have no problem. For those who want to play hot, I will personally give them fire. I will personally be in the forefront with firelight to touch the side of the body of such bad people. Whoever survives should thank God. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Before now, we used to appeal but now we are warning not begging.
After seeing what we are doing and what we have achieved, whether you are a man or a woman or Egbira or none Egbira, and you don’t acknowledge them, I’m ready for such people squarely. I expect all the traditional rulers, who are the owners of the communities, to begin to call everybody in their domains to caution their children that are bad. No father should allow his child to call him, because when a child is calling his father, it is a sign of bad omen.
May God grant our prayers in Mosques, Churches and through herbalists for good thing for individuals, because what I wish for myself is good thing. My mother asked me all through her to be doing good and that is what I will continue to do. My mother did not wish bad for anyone and so anyone who wishes me bad, such bad thing will go back to him…such bad person will go and lie with my mother (in the grave).
I’m fully ready from now on. If I send a message through anybody and the person delivers wrong message, he will see the other side of me. Even if you murmur inside your room and I ask that you should be brought to me and whoever fails to bring you should be ready to be dealt with in lieu of you.
That’s why I am saying it loud and clear for all the people in Kogi. The bad people who are determined to continue in their bad ways, some of them older than me, will see the other side of me. Let them know that I can hold “weree Chimengwu” (reference to gun in a slang) more than them.
I want you to record and play this message, and send it far and wide to them to hear me out. We have done good things and will continue to do them. Those bad people want to continue in their old ways and if I cannot defend the good things I have done in Kogi, then I will consider myself a failure. And I am not a failure.
When it is time, we will hand over to whoever we like, for them to continue with our good work. Whoever has bad habit, no matter how small, should stop it or be ready to vomit it by force.
Nigeria and Poland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Agriculture, pledging their willingness to enlarge the fields of economic cooperation in the energy and manufacturing sectors.
The signing took place during the State Visit of President Andrezej Duda of Poland, the first by a Polish leader to Nigeria since the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries in 1961.
Addressing a joint press conference with the visiting Head of State, President Buhari said Nigeria is gratified by the existing fruitful cooperation with Poland in the fields of maritime, education and defence.
On agriculture, which is one of the priority areas of the Nigerian government, the President said cooperation in this area will be a win-win for the two countries, especially in the context of global food insecurity occasioned by the conflict in Ukraine.
He said that in view of the numerous global challenges, Nigeria would like to develop new mechanisms for cooperation including regular strategic dialogues and political consultations to cover not only bilateral relations but also to address regional and international issues.
“Our cooperation in education has a long history and we wish to encourage the extension of that cooperation to the sharing of knowledge and experience between our educational institutions in areas such as science and technology as well as Information and Communication Technology, in order to help drive innovation in our countries in this competitive global knowledge economy.”
The Nigerian leader described the two-day visit of the Polish President as significant, underscoring the cordial relations that exist between both countries, commending the efforts of the Government of Poland in providing assistance to the large number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, including a significant number of Nigerians.
“I also wish to express our sincere gratitude for the kind and generous support extended during our government’s evacuation of our fleeing nationals.
“We also appreciate greatly the opportunity given to some of our nationals to remain in Poland to continue with their studies.
“As regards trade relations, we would like to see an increase in the level of trade, as it remains relatively low in spite of the long period of relations between our two countries.”
Buhari welcomed the hosting of a Dialogue that will bring together various members of the business sectors of Nigeria and Poland, during the State Visit, adding that it is an excellent initiative to increase the level of trade between both countries.
Duda said Nigeria was the only African country Poland has signed an agreement of strategic dialogue with, which includes the MoU on agriculture cooperation.
“What was pivotal in our conversation today both in our tete-a-tete as well as the plenary session was how to provide food and energy security.
“It is important to us to strengthen the relations between Poland and Nigeria and the MOU we have signed is very important for the future of both nations on food security.”
On energy security, he lauded the delivery of liquefied natural gas to Poland from Nigeria, as well as shipments of crude oil.
“We want to further this cooperation and we want to increase the supplies from Nigeria to Poland and by this way we want to contribute to the development of economic cooperation between the two countries.”
President Duda noted that Nigeria and Poland have enjoyed excellent bilateral relations in the last 60 years, buoyed at the people-to-people level with the presence of many Nigerians at Polish higher institutions of learning as well as the input of Polish engineers and scientists in the building of infrastructure in Nigeria.
The minister of education, Adamu Adamu has confessed that he has never, in his entire life, been in a dark period of personal anguish and internal turmoil as he has been since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on nationwide strike.
The minister, who spoke today, September 6 at a meeting with Vice-Chancellors and Pro-Chancellors of the Federal Universities at the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Abuja, said: “for me, the past two weeks have been a very dark period of personal anguish and internal turmoil.
“I used to deceive myself that in a climate of frankness, and with mutual goodwill, it will fall to my lot to bring an end to the incessant strikes in the education sector.”
The minister regretted that his sincere moves to quickly end the strike which began in February, 2022, has not proved possible, or, at least, not as easy, quickly and straightforward, “as I used to think.
“Distinguished Chairmen, vice-chancellors, I called you today not to share with you my anguish but to share with you the details of what we have done and what remains to be done. And certainly, a lot remains to be done. But for very different reasons, the current positions of Government and ASUU on the future of negotiations seem to have coincided.
“For me, this is a position I would have wanted us to reach after an amicable resolution of all the issues contained in the 2009 Agreements. It appears that we are running ahead of the negotiations but not for the right reasons. The President of ASUU has been reported to have said the Union would no longer negotiate with the current Federal Government.
“This position must be resisted. Government and ASU have no option than to continue talking until our universities have reopened their doors to students, who clearly are the principal victims of the seemingly unending strikes. In the circumstances, therefore, all Councils and Senates of our universities are enjoined to rise up to their responsibilities.
Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper indicated how a group of armed bandits ‘arrested’ a scavenger, a middle-aged man, who specializes in uprooting metal rods and removing iron bars, from deserted buildings at a deserted village in Katsina State.
It was learnt that the suspected criminal scavenger was caught by the bandits while they were on a ‘patrol’ on their motorcycles.
An exclusive video showed the bandit-terrorists parading the scavenger and his stolen metal rods inside a cart before a community leader.
Though the date of the incident could not be confirmed from the video but the bandits warned the thief about the danger of stealing.
“Don’t you know that it is a criminal offence to steal? You are lucky that we are handing you over to the authority. We could have executed you for engaging in criminal activities,” the bandits said.
The terrorists, who in the video wielded sophisticated guns, told the community leader to ensure the ‘scavenger thief’ is dealt with according to the law to deter others from stealing.
It was gathered that the bandits did not only hand over their ‘catch’ to the Katsina community chief but also ensured he was later whisked away by security personnel for interrogation.
The Rivers State Governor,Nyeson Wike has vowed to personally crush his enemies and will not leave them for God.
Responding to the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu’s remarks during a flight together, asking him to hand over the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to God, Wike said that God has given him the power to crush his enemies, hence the need to handle it himself.
According to Wike, God has other things to handle and he also has his part to play.
The PDP Governor said that now that he has the opportunity to deal with his enemies, he would do it well.
Governor Wike, who spoke while commissioning the Osisioma Flyover in Abia State, promised to deal with people talking in his state.
He asked people in the state to wait until campaign season begins, adding that he would show them who is who.
Governor Wike revealed the agenda of his camp amidst the crisis in the PDP, saying that they are only standing in for some people in the party who have the same agenda as them.
He mocked people trying to break the existing relationship between him and his allies, such as the Governor of Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu, Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde and Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom.
According to Governor Wike, the people trying to break his camp don’t understand their agenda.
Former Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, has predicted that the 2023 presidential election will still be a two-party affair between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In an interview today, September 5 in Lagos, Babatope said that the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi can only try their best during the election but cannot win because they lack the structure and national spread to secure victory.
“It is still going to be a two-party affair. It is still going to be between the APC and PDP. The Labour Party can only try but there is nothing they can do. Unlike the APC and PDP, Labour Party does not cover the whole of the country.
“They cannot also claim to have the support of the Labour movement, so they can try but I don’t see them making any significant impact in the presidential election”.
When asked if he will support a fellow Yoruba man, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who is the APC presidential candidate, Babatope said despite knowing Tinubu for more than 50 years, he cannot support him as both of them belong to different parties.
“We belong to different political parties, even though we are both Yorubas. I have known Tinubu for over 50 years but I cannot support him because we belong to different political parties. He belongs to the APC and
“I am of the PDP. There is no question of Yoruba race here. I am a member of the PDP and our candidate, Atiku Abubakar will win by the grace of God”
Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as the party’s new leader, putting her in line to be confirmed as prime minister.
The announcement came on today in London after a leadership election in which only the 180,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote. Truss beat rival Rishi Sunak, the government’s former Treasury chief, by promising to increase defense spending and cut taxes, while refusing to say how she would address the cost-of-living crisis.
Truss received 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399, according to The Associated Press.
The two-month leadership contest left Britain with a power vacuum at a time when consumers, workers and businesses were demanding government action to mitigate the impact of soaring food and energy prices.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has had no authority to make major policy decisions since July 7, when he announced his intention to resign.
Johnson was forced to resign after a series of ethics scandals that peaked in July when dozens of cabinet ministers and lower-level officials resigned over his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system of government, the center-right Conservative Party was allowed to hold an internal election to select a new party leader and prime minister, without going to the wider electorate. A new general election isn’t required until December 2024.
According to the Times of London, Truss won with 57% of the vote – a slightly narrower margin than what early polls had suggested. Turnout was 82.6%.
In remarks following her victory, she paid tribute to “my friend” Johnson, saying: “You were admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.”
“We will deliver a great victory for the conservatives in 2024,” Truss added,
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The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has denied receiving $150 million allegedly donated by Nigerians in the Diaspora for his campaign.
