Politics
“That’s where you belong” – Gov Bala Urges Obi to return to PDP
On Friday, Bala Mohammed, the Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, welcomed Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, to the Government House in Bauchi for a significant meeting.
During a press interaction while hosting Obi and his team, Mohammed emphasized the need for opposition parties to unite in preparation for the 2027 general elections. He called for collaboration among opposition groups to strengthen their stance.
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He specifically appealed to Obi to rejoin the PDP, stating, “We have to harmonise our interests in the interest of the people of Nigeria. The opposition must come together. This ADC, PDP and even the remaining political parties should come together. And we don’t even hate the present administration. We wish they would do better, but as I discussed with you, there’s no budget. There is no plan. Everything is about politics from day one. And we have to be cautious, not to disparage our people. We have to unite the opposition, our ego and our interests. So that we can present a common front to compete and to make sure that we go to the promised land.”
Mohammed highlighted the growing expectations of Nigerians for the upcoming 2027 elections, noting, “There is a lot of hunger and anger. And we don’t want to cause so many disparaging movements.” He reiterated his invitation to Obi, saying, “So please come back. That’s where you belong. Don’t go anywhere that is in disarray.”
In response, Obi explained that his visit to Bauchi focused on engaging with students at colleges of health and Almajiri schools. He expressed optimism about the capabilities of the youth he met, signaling their potential to shape Nigeria’s future.
Obi commended Mohammed for his notable efforts in advancing Bauchi’s education sector. Addressing questions about Nigeria’s political environment, he stressed the need for transformation, saying, “Our politics must change. It has to be politics of development, Politics of competence, politics of capacity and compassion, where we care for other people.”
Obi described his visit to Mohammed as a courtesy call to discuss national challenges and explore collective solutions, stating, “How can we solve it together?” He also underscored the importance of forming alliances among political parties ahead of 2027, clarifying that such partnerships should prioritize development over power struggles, as he noted, “Alliance is not for power grabbing, but to bring about changes and development.”
Reports indicate that during his visit, Obi made generous donations totaling N15 million to educational institutions in Bauchi. He contributed N10 million to Malikiya College of Nursing Sciences and N5 million to Intisharu Islamic and Quranic Memorisation School.
While making the donation at Malikiya College of Nursing Sciences, Obi remarked, “You are very important to this Nigeria, and if there is anything we can do to support what you are doing, we need to do it. The nurse is more important than the doctor. The nurse knows the patient, the nurse owns the patient, the nurse is everything.”
“I will not be attending the announcement of the ADC Presidential Election Results today. I am concerned by reports from across the country of widespread vote rigging, some of which I myself observed, and will therefore be taking advice on my next steps.”
These were the exact words of Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, one of the presidential aspirants of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), with which he cast a slur on the ongoing presidential primaries of the party, hinging his position on reports of fraud trailing the exercise.
Hayatu-Deen, a second timer in the search for the nation’s number one job, ran against Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria’s former Vice President and Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation.
In a statement on his assessment of the exercise which began on Monday, the renowned economist Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), used his X platform to convey his dissatisfaction with the process.
The ADC which said the collation for the exercise would take place in Abuja had urged aspirants, party leaders, delegates, and members to conduct themselves peacefully and uphold party unity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, its spokesman, who described the exercise as a defining moment for both the ADC and Nigerians seeking a credible political alternative, maintained that it remained committed to internal democracy and a transparent leadership selection process.
“The ADC remains proud to stand today as the only truly democratic party in Nigeria because it is the only political party whose choice of presidential candidate is determined through open primaries,” he said adding that the conduct of aspirants and party members during the exercise would reflect the leadership culture the ADC seeks to promote.
For Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s 14th leader, and the third President since 1999, the road is now clear, should he be interested to make a comeback to reclaim the office he lost to the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
This is on the strength of a decision by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which hours ago, threw out a suit challenging the eligibility of the former President to make a go at the nation’s number one job, including that of 2027.
Peter Lifu, on Tuesday, held that JohnMary Jideobi, the plaintiff, who pursued the case of stopping the ex-President, lacked the legal right to have instituted the suit, having not suffered any loss from Jonathan’s perceived intention to vie in next year’s poll.
(AGF).
Lifu not only dismissed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, where Jideobi had prayed the court for an order restraining Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, but slammed him with a N20 million fine to be paid in favour of the ex-president, and N1million fine against in favour of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
Against the backdrop of Jideobi’s argument was that Jonathan, having completed the tenure of the late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later served a full term after the 2011 elections, he had exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms in office, Lifu described it as a waste of time.
He also dismissed the plea that the court should restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate in the 2027 elections or any future presidential poll, insisting that the matter had earlier been litigated upon with a judicial pronouncement made on it.
Referring to the decision of a Federal High Court, Yenagoa which had previously dealt with a similar matter and the concurrence of the Court of Appeal, affirming Jonathan’s eligibility, Lifu, who earlier refused to recuse himself from the matter, said he was bound by both, dismissed the latest attempt as “an abuse of court process.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, virtually poured cold water on the burning issue of Goodluck Jonathan, for Nigerian President making a bid for the office he lost in 2915 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi, who is also making another bid for the same office for the second time, told reporters on Tuesday, shortly getting a letter of clearance from the Nigerian Democratic Congress though he was not aware that the former President was contesting, he was in no position to obstruct the move as political choices were the rights of individuals to make.
Against the revelation by Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of Nemadi Sambo, Jonathan’s Vice President and currently in charge of the presidential screening of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi told the reporters at the NDC National Secretariat in Abuja: “Actually, I’m not aware of that. But democracy is about people offering themselves for service and being voted for.
“I’m not in any way going around looking for who and who is contesting. I’m concentrating on how to build a better Nigeria.”
But he was quick to marshal out his plans for the country, declaring that under his presidency, Nigerians would be freed from daily lamentations coming from the parlous situation the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Tinubu had plunged the country.
Hear him: “This I will do by first uniting the country because it’s not a united country. We have to govern the country by the Constitution of Nigeria, which stipulates federal character and inclusivity. The country must be united. The country must be secure.
“We want to see mothers no longer fear when their children go to school or work. We also want a country where we can travel all over Nigeria without fear. So many Nigerians today go to bed not knowing where the next meal will come from tomorrow. That must change.
“We must live in a country where people do not turn public assets and public wealth into private assets. So we must fight corruption to a standstill and make it work for everybody. Politicians are preoccupied with the next election when Nigerians are dying. That must stop.”
He also took time to explain the reason for the two-hour stretch of drilling during the screening. Saying: “This is democracy in action because NDC chooses to do things properly. So when we say this is going to be screening, it has to be done right.
“Nigerians want to know whether you meet the stipulated constitutional qualification and provide relevant documents to back them.
“This is the way to know whether everything you have said or declared is the truth and if you can answer questions posed about your commitment to building a united, secure and prosperous Nigeria. That’s why the screening took over two hours.”
Regarding his status as a sole candidate, Obi, who was accompanied by Victor Umeh, a long time ally and Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, said: “I don’t know who else has bought. So until the party says I’m the only one who expressed interest, that’s it.”
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