President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, on Friday mocked the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi over his continued comment that the current administration has impoverished Nigerians.

Ajayi said Obi talks about poverty like he has a magical wand to make it disappear and make Nigerians millionaires if elected president.

Posting on X, the presidential aide insisted that poverty rated high in Anambra State when Obi was governor.

Ajayi wrote: “With the way Mr Peter Obi talks about poverty everyday and makes it a sing-song, one would think he banished poverty in Anambra State for the 8 years he was governor. The paradox is that poverty rate ballooned under him in Anambra and went all time higher than any previous governors of the state.

“He talks about poverty every single day as if he has one magic wand that will make poverty disappear in Nigeria. Let’s sha make him President and see poverty disappears and everyone becomes a millionaire.”

This comes as Obi lamented the worsening economic situation in Nigeria, saying poverty and hunger had reached alarming levels.

“Every day poverty is increasing. Every day hunger is increasing. You don’t even need World Bank reports to know this because you can see it in the villages.

“They are saying that about 70 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger. What are we going to do about it? Are we going to continue like this? No. That is not possible,” he said.

The Abia State chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has rejected the new campaign fees released by the Abia State Structure for Signage and Advertising Agency, ABSSAA for the 2027 polls.

ABSSAA had on Wednesday, fixed has presidential campaign fees at N200m, governorship campaign fees at N150m and N100m for senate.

The agency also said that those contesting for House of Representatives and House of Assembly would pay N50m and N20m respectively.

But reacting to the development, Abia APC alleged that the state government is weaponizing state institutions to intimidate, frustrate and financially cripple opposition candidates.

A statement signed by the APC Publicity Secretary, Uche Aguoru said the policy is a calculated attempt to commercialise democracy and reduce political participation, adding that it would make the 2027 contest an exclusive preserve of the wealthy and those with access to state resources.

“Even more disturbing is the clear inconsistency between these outrageous charges and the provisions of Section 92 of the Electoral Act, 2026 (as amended), which sets limits to campaign expenditures,” APC said.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, also rejected the new campaign fees, alleging that it was an attempt by the Abia State government to auction the political space to highest bidder.

PDP’s official position was signed by Jude Udeachara, the party’s Publicly Secretary.

While demanding the immediate withdrawal of the campaign fees policy, the PDP said, “This is not a regulation, it is political extortion dressed in administrative language.”

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over his defence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arguing that the electoral body has not done enough to earn Nigerians’ confidence.

Okonkwo spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday while reacting to Tinubu’s recent remarks that INEC remained neutral despite criticisms from opposition parties.

The ADC chieftain accused the President of speaking on behalf of the electoral commission instead of addressing public concerns about its credibility.

“It is very sad. Any country that has a president who has morphed into the chief spokesperson of INEC is in trouble,” Okonkwo said.

He questioned the President’s assertion that the electoral umpire was impartial, insisting that unresolved issues from the 2023 general election continued to cast doubt on the commission’s neutrality.

“You can imagine President Tinubu telling the whole world that INEC is neutral. The same Tinubu who, during the 2015 campaign, said they would form a parallel government if INEC rigged the election.

“The same people who were once critical of INEC are now saying INEC is neutral. An INEC that recorded a technical glitch in 2023 and has not satisfactorily explained it to Nigerians cannot simply be declared neutral.

We are urging INEC to be neutral; as of today, it is not,” he said.

Okonkwo, who is also a spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election, argued that Tinubu’s performance in office would make it difficult for him to secure a second term.

According to him, the President should step aside rather than seek re-election.

“Tinubu should not even allow the election to hold; he should resign and go in peace,” he said.

The former Labour Party presidential campaign spokesman also commented on the recent Court of Appeal judgment that overturned an earlier ruling directing INEC to deregister the ADC and four other political parties.

He claimed the party had successfully resisted attempts to remove it from Nigeria’s political landscape through the courts.

“I had boasted that ADC does not have any legal challenge because we know the only challenge it has is the APC trying to use some instruments in the judiciary to litigate us out of existence. We resisted them, and they are failing and falling like a pack of cards,” he said.

Okonkwo further accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of attempting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections, alleging that the party was using various means to undermine Nigeria’s democratic process.