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2023: Don’t Vote Cultist As Your gov – Cleric Appeals To Akwa Ibom People

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A senior priest of the African Church, Akwa Ibom State, Reverend Richard Peters, has urged the people to prayerfully scrutinize whoever they want to vote as a governor in the 2023 elections ensuring that the person is not suspected to be a cultist.

It could be recalled that the body of venerable clergies in the state popularly called ‘Fathers of Faith’ had, at different fora, said Akwa Ibom would never be governed by a cultist even though they did not mention any name.

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Re-echoing the stance of the fathers of faith in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, Peters, who is also the Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Media, said Akwa Ibomites should never vote out of sentiment or pity but on conviction of the candidates’ competence and track record.

READ ALSO: Alleged Abduction Of Labour Candidate: Ebonyi Network Sends Strong Message To IGP

The cleric lamented that some youths in the villages had been cajoled into joining cultism for election purposes with juicy promises saying that the people should not allow such by supporting a candidate that would trash the governor’s efforts, Mr Emmanuel, in proscribing cultism in the state.

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His words, “I believe that consultations, primaries have been concluded and candidates have set up their campaign committees to carry out the electioneering processes to see how to win the minds of the people, it is time for the people to take a critical look of these people they want to elect.

“They should not allow a cultist to take over power because of the implications and the negative impact it will create within the state. The impact may not be minimal, it will even affect generations unborn. Cultism will be institutionalized in the state, and for someone to benefit from the government, especially the youth, he must join the cabal.

“It is very alarming when you go to the villages; they are now queuing up to be initiated, which is very wrong, some are being threatened, and they will be afraid to speak up; that is why as religious leaders, we speak up and raise the alarm because of the impending danger; therefore, we should not allow such to be.

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“Do you know what it really took the governor to return this state truly to God? it took the governor a level of commitment to raise fathers of faith to return the state to God, through prayers to rescue the state from vices and satanic tendencies and nobody should be allowed to return the state to powers alien to us, 99 percent of people here are Christians so we should ensure we allow God to rule in our affairs, as a state. Akwa Ibom people should take these avoidable steps in order not to regret in the future.”

READ ALSO: Suspected Cultists Shoot Dead Osun Monarch’s Son

Speaking on micro zoning of the governorship slot, Peters urged the people to look beyond the rhetorics of micro zoning since power has come back to Uyo Senatorial district and any local government in the district is eligible to produce a governor even as he noted that the three governorship candidates from the three major political parties are all from the district.

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He added, “Akwa Ibom people should focus on a candidate who has a free heart, developmentally conscious, people centric leader, someone that will develop in the already mapped out development of our past leaders, Akwa Ibom state is blessed with good leaders, each leader improves upon it’s successor another governor is coming to improve on the achievement of the present administration, we don’t want a mediocre who would not allow government to be for the people but for a particular group or cult.”

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VIDEO: How Peter Obi Betrayed Me – Kenneth Okonkwo In New Interview

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Veteran actor and ex-spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has accused former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, of betrayal in the wake of internal party disputes.

In a viral interview with Symfoni which started trending on Saturday, Okonkwo, who officially exited the Labour Party in February 2025, revealed that Obi went against his advice and returned to support the embattled Julius Abure-led faction of the party, despite alleged warnings.

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According to him, Obi was misled by LP executives who claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission had recognised them.

He said, “Any politician that knows what he’s doing cannot be betrayed by another. If there is anybody that betrayed the other, I can say it emphatically that Peter Obi betrayed me.

READ ALSO: Nigeria No Longer A Democracy, Peter Obi Laments

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“The Julius Abure-led LP members lied to Obi that the Independent National Electoral Commission had accepted them and Obi surreptitiously went back to them but I told him: ‘Sir, you have made a public statement on integrity and even if INEC has accepted them, that is not a criterion for you to go back and start dealing with them because they have shown that they are not democratic. If you go back to them, they will destroy your political career and everything you have said about integrity will die.’”

He said that despite privately urging Obi not to align with a group he described as “undemocratic” and “agents of the government,” Okonkwo said Obi went ahead to publicly endorse them.

“I told Obi that these people had become agents in the hands of the government to destabilise him. What they did was absolutely illegal and unconstitutional, I told him that if he went back to them, I wouldn’t join him in doing so.

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“Thereafter, I called all the people that were in the inner circle and told them the same thing about what Obi was trying to do. I told them he wanted to go back with the Abure people and if he did, I wouldn’t go back with him because I do not swallow back my words.

READ ALSO: Teen Who Stood In Front Of Peter Obi’s Convoy Freed After Months In Kirikiri

“And after saying all those things, within like 72 hours, Obi went back to Abure’s office to publicly endorse them and while he was there talking to them, one of the leaders in that executive sent me the video to mock me that the person I was fighting for against them has come to their office to endorse them.

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“It was when INEC dissociated itself from Abure that Obi came out to start acting neutral but I told him he could not be neutral and something had to be done,” he added.

The Labour Party has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership crisis, with opposing factions laying claim to the party’s national structure.

The Abure-led faction has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and anti-democratic practices, which critics say contradict the party’s reformist image.

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Okonkwo, a known loyalist of Obi’s political ideology, cited these irregularities as his reason for quitting the party earlier in the year.

Watch video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202https://twitter.com/i/status/1933867577651925202

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Amaechi Slams Tinubu’s Policies In Fresh Outburst

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Former Minister of Transportation and two-time governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has asked the coalition opposition to kick President Bola Tinubu out of office if Nigeria is to escape its deepening economic crisis.

In a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, Amaechi, a founding member and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, lamented the country’s deteriorating condition and signalled his willingness to help forge a new opposition coalition to rescue the nation.

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People are dying. People are starving. I myself am feeling the effects of hunger,” he said, painting a grim picture of life under the current administration.

Amaechi’s statement comes in the wake of the APC’s recent endorsement of Tinubu as its sole presidential candidate for 2027, a move Amaechi openly questioned.

READ ALSO: I Don’t Want To Join Issues With Children, Amaechi Hits Back At Wike

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While reiterating his loyalty to the party, he warned that fidelity to a political platform should never come at the cost of national conscience.

If the government is failing the country, you don’t just go along because you’re in the same party. You know that’s not right,” he stated emphatically.

Though he stopped short of confirming a 2027 presidential bid, the former minister said the option remained on the table.

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“Certainly, I believe I can make a meaningful contribution,” he added, hinting that his political journey may not yet be over.

READ ALSO: Democracy Day: Gov. Mohammed Advocates Unity, Good Governance

He spoke of widespread poverty, spiralling food insecurity, and daily tragedies that now dot the national landscape.

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Reflecting on his years as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi lamented that the number of out-of-school children then pegged at 10 million, had since ballooned.

The economic hardship, he said, had also deepened insecurity.

“The Boko Haram insurgency is not just a religious crisis. Many of those involved are driven by desperation and hunger,” he asserted, linking terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping to a broader socioeconomic collapse.

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Amaechi’s declaration added momentum to an emerging political realignment.

 

Talks were already underway among key opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, as they explored the possibility of a unified front against Tinubu in 2027.

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Even ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and once a key Tinubu ally had signalled interest in backing an opposition alliance.

But as opposition forces stir, the ruling party continues to absorb defectors, prompting fears of Nigeria drifting toward a one-party state, a scenario Amaechi warned could undermine democracy and silence dissent.

We’re thinking that if we come together and win the election, the country will certainly witness change,” he said, suggesting an urgent need for a credible alternative.

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UNN Best Graduate Wins £33,000 Com

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A student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s with the overall best graduating CGPA of 4.98, Chizoba Ejiofor, has secured a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship.

Education advocate and tech entrepreneur Alex Onyia, who made this known on social media on Thursday, said he had taken responsibility for supporting Ejiofor after the university failed to award him the promised N50,000 prize for academic excellence.

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I have a good news. A very good news. You remember Chizoba Ejiofor, who graduated as UNN overall best graduating student with CGPA of 4.98, that UNN refused to fulfill the N50k price promised to him?

READ ALSO: Crisis Brews In UNN As Court Restrains Varsity From Conducting Convocation Election

“I took him up as a full responsibility. We started working tirelessly together since last year to secure a fully funded scholarship, and today we have the good news,” Onyia wrote.

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Onyia revealed that Ejiofor was awarded a fully funded Commonwealth scholarship, valued at over £33,000. The package includes tuition, flight tickets, and monthly stipends.

This is fully funded scholarship from Commonwealth. Over 33 thousand pounds in scholarship, flight tickets and monthly stipends inclusive. No one can describe how happy and fulfilled I am today,” he added.

 

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