Politics

Falana, Others Slam Okpebholo As Edo Movement Ban On Obi Sparks Reactions, Controversy

Published

6 months ago

July 21, 2025

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo’s remarks on Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has stirred controversy and reactions.

Recall that Okpebholo had last week Friday at a rally warned Obi to obtain security clearance before visiting Edo State.

The statement by the governor has been described by critics as a direct threat to Obi’s life and a dangerous precedent for democracy.

Reacting to the statement, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), urged Obi to take legal action over what he termed an “illegal threat.”

Earlier on Sunday, Falana had asked Okpebholo to withdraw the threats to the life of Obi.

In a statement, the senior lawyer noted that the threat to the life of Obi issued by the “new sheriff in town” in Edo State constituted a violation of Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples (Ratification and Enforcement), which guarantee the fundamental right of every citizen to life.

“However, if Governor Okpebholo does not withdraw the illegal threat because of sheer arrogance of raw power, Mr Peter Obi should proceed to file an application in the Benin Judicial Division of the Federal High Court to secure the enforcement of his fundamental right to life.

“Mr Obi should act with utmost urgency in view of the prevalence of mob justice and other forms of extrajudicial killings in the country,” the statement added.

On their part, the African Democratic Congress and the Obidient Movement, accused Okpebholo of intimidation and spreading falsehoods.

The ADC’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, speaking with journalists, warned that such threats were becoming a troubling trend among APC governors.

He stressed that the party was informing both Nigerians and the international community about the situation, against the right to move freely across all states by every Nigerian.

“The African Democratic Congress condemns the restriction order issued on Peter Obi.

“This is not the first time. It is becoming a pattern for APC governors to make the kind of pronouncements credited to Governor Okpebholo, declaring that Mr Obi or opposition leaders are not welcome in their state.

“This is not democratic, and it’s a very dangerous pattern. Nigeria is a free country, and every citizen of Nigeria has the right to go anywhere in this country.

“We don’t need a visa in our country. We don’t need anybody’s permission to go to any part of our country.

“This also speaks to an authoritarian instinct among some of these governors of the APC, and we believe that this can only get worse if it’s not nipped in the bud,” he added.

Abdullahi said, having failed to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, the strategy is to begin to intimidate and issue threats and warnings not to come to their states.

“This is unacceptable. We will go anywhere in Nigeria that we want because Nigeria is a free country,” he said.

The Edo State government has, however, insisted that the governor’s comments at a rally on Friday were misinterpreted, stressing that his call was a security protocol and not hostility toward the opposition leader.

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

2 days ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

2 days ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

3 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”