Politics

Why Obi Visited Abure — Spokesperson

Published

2 years ago

May 22, 2024

The campaign team of Labour Party Presidential flag bearer, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, announced that the recent visit of the former Anambra governor to the party secretariat in Abuja was a reconciliatory move and not an endorsement as being twisted in a section of the media.

This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja by Obi’s Campaign Spokesman, Yunusa Tanko.

To further buttress his point, Tanko also stressed that his principal also met with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress political arm in the early hours of Wednesday to seek an end to their conflict with the party.

The media was awash with news of Obi and his supporters’ visit to the leadership of the party at the national secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.

Wearing a black kaftan and his trademark glasses, the former governor was received by the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, and members of his National Working Committee.

A few hours after their visit, a section of the media described the meeting as an open endorsement of the embattled leader of the party and his NWC members following the contentious national convention that returned them to office.

In his statement on Wednesday, Tanko kicked against the report, insisting that it was a reconciliatory visit.

He said, “Obi’s visit to Labour Party headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday was a reconciliatory move not to endorse any group interest in the party. Obi had repeatedly maintained that his interest was to carry everybody along into one strong family and not to endorse anyone’s interest.

“The visit was part of the consultations Obi has been embarking on in search of peace in the party. In line with this, he also met with the political arm of the NLC and TUC on Wednesday in continuation of his search for peace in the party.

“At his meeting with the workers’ union, the leadership of the NLC/TUC political commission led by comrade Titus Amba and comrade Chris Uyot was also disposed to peace in the party. He clearly made the point that the party needed to reconcile all various positions in a peaceful atmosphere to have a united house that should be all-inclusive.

“He thanked the leadership of the political commission for their understanding and expressed the hope for a good working relationship very shortly. The LP standard bearer also plans to meet with other critical stakeholders like the Obidient to have an all-inclusive political family with a common dream of rescuing Nigeria.”

Tanko’s rebuttal, however, didn’t go down well with the Abure-led NWC.

In a counter statement released barely an hour later, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, warns against twisting the ‘well-intentioned’ visit of their presidential candidate.

Ifoh also reiterated that both Obi and Abure were on the same page on reconciliation of aggrieved members and stakeholders of the party

He said, “As a party, we are pleased that our leader has chosen to reconcile all aggrieved members and stakeholders of the party. This noble step taken by Mr. Obi is in line with the call made by the Labour Party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure during his maiden press conference last week of Abure-led NWC wherein he pleaded with all the warring parties including the NLC to sheath their swords and join in the rebuilding process in the party.

“Obi’s visit and speech on Tuesday during the FCT solidarity rally has been variedly described in some quarters as an endorsement on the Abure leadership being his very first visit after the successful national convention of the party held in March. To us as a party, we cherish this visit on whatever nomenclature as a positive wind blowing on the party.

“We believe that very soon, the reconciliatory efforts will be consummated and metamorphose into a political force that will usher in a government to liberate Nigerians from the shackles of maladministration we are presently facing in the country.

“Finally, we urge the NLC and its political commission to understand we are not the foe. They see us as an ally in the battle to rescue Nigeria. They should emulate the Trade Union Congress, which has shown greater understanding and willingness to partner with the party in our efforts to make a new Nigeria possible.”

Politics

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

Published

1 day 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.”

Politics

Wike A ‘Pestilence’ On Rivers, I Resigned Because Of It – Ex-Commissioner

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Austin Tam George, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a destabilising force in Rivers State, accusing him of attempting to exert godfatherism over the state’s political affairs.

He argued that the move to impeach the governor is a calculated attempt to reassert political control and reduce Fubara’s growing influence.

Tam George, who served under Wike’s administration, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television.

He said he resigned as commissioner due to what he described as Wike’s propensity for chaos and instability and the reduction of governance to a personality-driven system.

According to him, the current political tension in the state is the culmination of Wike’s long-standing approach to power, which he said is now manifesting in efforts to control the state for personal political influence.

He said: “Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers state. I served in his administration as commissioner for information. As you know, I resigned precisely because of these, his propensity for chaos, for instability and reducing government to a personality cult, more or less. And I’m so disappointed that this propensity has now crystallized today to a stage where the state is now held by the juggler by person who thinks that he will be political godfather over the rest of Rivers state.

“But what I think is going to happen in this final phase of this struggle is that Rivers’ people ultimately are going to resist and defeat this tendency to want to privatize the state, to want to capture the state for his own personal aggrandizement.

“Governor Fubara has been an excellent administrator. I have to say he’s spending money building people’s capacity, lifting communities out of poverty. Money you would have expected that he would have diverted to political godfathers are now being spent in critical sectors such as education, where he’s completely transforming the sector, in health where almost all the tertiary health care systems are revived, 122 primary health care centers spread across the 23 local government areas.

“There is a total transformation happening on a sector by sector basis, and this has endeared the governor to the people of the state.

“Now there is a strong likelihood that he may be seeking a second term to expand his legacy and to consolidate his achievements for the benefit of all. And this will mean that there is going to be, you know, a reduction of Wike’s influence.

“So what you see as an impeachment move is an attempt to try to reassert what they consider to be their leverage against the governor.”

Politics

Why We’re Impeaching Fubara — Rivers Assembly

Published

2 days ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Rivers State House of Assembly has given reasons for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Major Jack, said the decision to impeach the governor and his deputy was based on their alleged persistent violation of the peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

Jack made the allegation during plenary on Thursday while presenting the report detailing acts of misconduct against the governor.

According to him, Governor Fubara and his deputy had repeatedly disregarded the resolutions reached during reconciliation efforts aimed at restoring stability in the state.

He accused the two leaders of running the affairs of government without commitment to transparency and good governance.

“The governor and his deputy have continued to act in a manner that undermines democratic principles and accountability,” Jack said.

He further alleged that the peace deals facilitated by President Tinubu were breached on several occasions, including agreements reached during reconciliation meetings held in December 2023 and another in 2025.

Jack insisted that the continued failure of the governor and his deputy to honour the terms of the peace accord necessitated the impeachment process currently before the Assembly.