The Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has declared that the 2027 election is between Nigerians and President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Obi made the remark while reiterating that he won the 2023 presidential election but it was rigged.

In an online viral video, the former Anambra State governor insisted that leadership is missing in Nigeria.

He said: “You know that I won that election and it was rigged but that is not a problem. It’s my believe that the next election is between Nigerians and the government in office because the public has had enough and they are determined that things have to change.

“We have sacrificed everything and it’s not working. It’s time to understand that one thing is missing, which is leadership.

“Nigerians will decide, so they will be the ones to say what is happening and I believe that they have learnt their lessons and they will find a way.

“For me, the desperation is to see Nigeria work. I’m not desperate to be president but I want to create a society where the children of Nigerians will have hope, where a child of a nobody can be anybody without anything. So for me, it’s important and we must make it work because we have had enough.”

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Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress, APC, 2027 governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, has said he has never met or talked to his running mate, Damilola Sonayon-James, before the party chose her for the role.

Hamzat shared this revelation during the public showing of “Who Is She?” At the Syrian Club Event Centre in Ikoyi area of the state.

He said that the choice of his deputy governorship candidate was made after discussions within the Lagos APC, following President Bola Tinubu’s request for the state chapter to select the candidate.

Hazmat said he suggested that the running mate should be a young woman, and the President agreed with that idea.

According to Hamzat, the president called and suggested that the matter be resolved.

He said: “The president called me and said, ‘You guys go and sort it out.’ I said, ‘Sir, I think it should be a female.’ He said, ‘It’s okay.’ I said, ‘It should be young.’ He said, ‘It’s okay.”

The APC governorship candidate said the party also took into account the state’s zoning plan when making their decision.

He said since he hails from Lagos East and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is from Lagos Central, people expected the deputy governor position to go to Lagos West.

Hamzat said he didn’t have a personal connection with Sonayon-James before she became the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

“Until Damilola was chosen, I didn’t know her phone number. I got her phone number from somebody,” he said.

He said that Sonayon-James, who is the deputy woman leader of the Lagos APC and comes from Badagry, was picked based on her abilities.

The Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has hinted at the real reason behind court ruling in favour of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’s camp.

It claimed that ‘politics of power, money and greed’ may have influenced the decision of the Federal High Court to strike out its suit seeking the recognition of its leadership.

This is contained in a statement by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, on Friday.

According to the spokesperson, the ruling was disappointing, stating that political interests may have influenced the the verdict of the court.

While saying they they respected the court, Ememobong said the did not agree with its ruling, stressing that the court’s decision was not in accordance with previous judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

“While we respect the judgment of the trial court, we respectfully consider that it is against the extant judgments of the Appeal and apex courts, leaving the plaintiffs with no option but to appeal the judgment and the rulings therein,” the party said.

The PDP faction further revealed that they had already instructed their lawyers to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

It expressed the optimism that as they take the case to the Appeal Court, the survival of true opposition and multi-party democracy will be assured and they will get their victory.

According to the party, the politics of power, money and greed may last for a while, expressing the certainty of victory regardless of the judgment by the Federal High Court.