₦airaland Forum

Obiedun:
What came out of the votes he got? May we not labour in vain. Obi will continue to lose. A common bigot. Yes daddy. Obi wanted to turn election to religious war. The desperate agulu man is jumping from mosque to mosque now. He must fail again. We don't need a pathological liar like him. He was a failure as a governor

benuejosh:
Peter Obi is not worth it and he (El Rufai) knows. In the class of high quality politicians and those with capacity to run and handle presidential positions, Peter Obi will come a distant hundred.

Any ticket you see Peter Obi on it, it will fail even before the election starts. It is only his online pool of bandits who troll everyone that will take him serious. Maybe they're using him to catch cruise.

Ngorbungor:
May your bitter cry never ceases at the mention of Obi.

Obi came to an election with virtually an unknown party, no Governor, Senator, Rep member, even local government chairmen, a structureless party, nothing to even protect his vote and he still got 6.1million vote, destroy Tinubu in his own State with an APC governor, incumbent Speaker, and Ministers with just 8-9 month to election. Please Obi is not una mate.

Now his is now building the bridge you

slivertongue:
No politician is hated by the North though a conservative society. It's the elites who seek to use regional and religious sentiments as a campaign strategy. Obi was well campaigned for over here even without bags of money flying up and down. The Muslim community played a great role in his six million votes. They supported him with funds, mobilization, contacts and planning so his tour of the North in recent times is a thank you visit. If the North is convinced about him they will wholesomely go for him.

Penguin2:
You are right.

Furthermore, with his tour of the north, Obi is now lowering a lot of the defenses they had against him and the impression they had of him which is good.

Even if it’s 5000 new people he convinces in the north, that’s an addition.

So, let him carry on

slivertongue:
The way Obi was received in the North in 2022-23 tells you that we have nothing against him. Obi is not responsible for any challenge the North is facing. No Northerner can say obi said anything negative about us. Infact in the run up to the election we had nothing against him, nothing tangible

Penguin2:
Then why did they dispatch Imams against him to castigate his character and campaign against him?

slivertongue:
Elites strategy to stay relevant. Most Northerners are sensitive to religion, thus the deployment of anti Islam sentiments against Obi. some knew it was a false accusation but couldnt force the people to see Obi as an amiable personality who cares about NIGERIANS

Penguin2:
As bitter as it might taste in mouth of some Obidients, this is why somebody like Elrufai is needed to pair with Obi.

With Elrufai on the ticket some of those propaganda will no longer stick.

dubem3:
i decided to create this thread after reading through a thread where Peter Obi the incumbent Anambra state governor was accusing el rufai of insulting the Igbos.
now, the first thing that comes to mind as an Anambrarian is how disgusting el rufai could be and the urge to call him all kinds of name and detest him follows. but then, i happened to also read further and saw how el rufai insulted ndi Igbo. All i saw was constructive criticism with facts and figures. My igbo brothers please before you feed on my flesh, hear me out.
i happen to know peter Obi after he claimed his mandate (not personally). I attended a lecture he gave and truly i loved the man. he seemed to have vision. i saw the spark in his eyes while he spoke.i felt the passion he exuded. he was good. years later (more like many months) i began to have doubts. what was happening? before i get carried away with my thoughts, back to the topic at hand.
the worst that could happen is we judge ourselves based on the pointers el rufai gave and seeing that we are better off than he gave us credit for, like the proverbial lizard that jumped down the iroko tree, we will praise ourselves if non would. but brothers, facts and figures don't lie.my questions are these

how would you access peter's performance so far?
why did peter ignore all that el rufai say and focus on an insult that didn't exist?
are these claims by el rufai true?
Anambra, what's the way forward?

if you have something constructive, please share with us...no tribal bashing...below is what el rufai said...its long but you can take pains to read

merengue:
Anambra: The Limits of Propaganda
By Hon. Chudi Offodile

http://omojuwa.com/2012/re-anambra-the-limits-of-propaganda-nasir-ahmad-el-rufai

Where did Mallam Nasir El-Rufai go wrong in his presentation on Anambra’s budget of misplaced priorities? Is it the facts he presented that Anambra State with adult literacy at 74.0% is behind Imo (80.8%) and Abia State (78.2%) or that the two major contributors to IGR will be N6.76 billion from taxes and about N4 billion from fines and fees? If this IGR is measured against the state projected personnel costs of N16.3 billion, Anambra cannot pay its staff salaries without reliance on federal allocation; this means it is one of those ‘dependent’ states and is not economically viable for independent existence. Can anyone fault this simple analysis from information provided by the government itself?

I need not restate all that El-Rufai laid out in that piece but I was surprised that he was accused by Governor Obi of insulting the Igbos and that only Anambra State indigenes can assess his administration not outsiders who have never visited the state like El-Rufai. Anyway, I am an Igbo from Anambra State and I state as follows: I do not feel insulted in anyway by the article in question and being from Anambra State, I wish to exercise the right which the Governor graciously granted only the indigenes of Anambra state, which is the right to assess his administration.

Peter Obi brought civility into governance in Anambra State at a time politics in the state had degenerated to dangerous and unacceptable levels. That I must concede. But he has also taken, as they say, liberty for license, engaged in needless propaganda, pursuit of federal lucre and in the process, squandered a golden opportunity to positively transform a fruitful virgin state.

Propaganda works and it has worked well for Peter Obi, but it has its limits. One of the areas where a lot of propaganda has gone into in Anambra state is road construction. A lot of quality roads were constructed by the Ngige administration. But the present government claimed to have ‘Asphalted’ over 500 km of roads and claims that Anambra State has the best network of roads in the Country. How much did it cost the state, assuming the number is accurate and of what quality?

A government that prides itself as the most prudent in Nigeria should present the whole picture to its citizens. For instance, in May, 2011, the government of Cross River State under Senator Liyel Imoke, signed contract agreements Publicly with eight contractors for the construction of 474 km of roads valued at N20.325 billion to cover 28 communities across the State under the Cross River Rural Access and Mobility Project. The Projects are being jointly funded by the African Development Bank contributing N7.016 billion and Cross River State contributing N13.308 billion.

How much exactly did the 500km of roads built in Anambra State by Governor Obi cost? Informed citizens have put the figure at between N48 billion and N60 billion, more than double of what Cross River State is spending for corresponding kilometers of roads. As regards the quality of the roads, most indigenes would admit that you can determine which road was done under Ngige and the ones under Peter Obi by the standard. The roads built under Ngige are of a much higher quality. Most of the roads done by Peter Obi will have to be re-awarded, a case of penny wise, pound foolish.

Another major propaganda point is that the government of Peter Obi has not borrowed while other profligate states have been borrowing recklessly. How can a state with massive infrastructure deficits keep its funds in the bank while the Governor’s major developmental efforts will be in commissioning of bore holes, immunization programmes and giving grants to schools seeking accreditation? How much of the state government money is actually in the bank and can the government come out categorically and deny the rumor that over N150 million is paid out by the ‘banks’ as commission every month? Is there a correlation between these monthly commission payments from the banks and the fact that the average cycle of contracts and payment in the state is two to three years sometimes more in order to maintain a certain minimum bank balance?

While rebuking El-Rufai for daring to point out the facts about the state, the Governor claimed that he has attracted industries to the state and mentioned two: Innoson Motors and SAB Miller Breweries in Onitsha. Innocent Chukwuma is from Nnewi in Anambra state. His company, Innoson has always been in Nnewi, long before Obi became Governor. It started as a motorcycle assembly plant before moving to buses, and other vehicles. So Peter Obi did not attract Innoson to Anambra State. He considers as a major achievement the fact that he built the road leading to the Innoson factory and brought the President to commission it. Congratulations!

On Sab Miller, the Governor will need to address the rumor making rounds in the state concerning the ownership of 22% of Sab Miller shares. Anambra State Government owns 10% while the remaining 12% is said to be owned by other businessmen from Anambra State. Who are those other businessmen? Since they are not ghosts, it is important that their names be made public to avoid ugly rumors.

Talking about investment in the state, the Governor is known to be a successful trader before he became Governor. If the state is so attractive for business, what informed the decision of his own company NEXT International to invest over N12 billion building the two largest shopping malls in Abuja, one in Mabushi and the other in Central Area, opposite federal ministry of transport? The Governor announced proudly that this year, he will pay N32 million as tax in Anambra State. Why invest and create employment outside the state and then pay tax in Anambra State? It is a very strange way of doing things. Anambra State needs the investment and jobs that the Governor outsourced to Abuja and other places. I call on the Governor to publish his tax returns to know exactly where the N32 million income tax is coming from. Is it from dividends or other sources? Since he mentioned it, we need to know more.

Anambra State is a rural state and nobody can deny that. It has no airport, no stadium and no good public secondary school. If you fall sick in the state and you are unable to navigate yourself to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Federal University Teaching Hospital, you are finished. The State University Teaching Hospital, Awka, which was ‘commissioned’ by President Jonathan in 2010, is still an ongoing project in 2012. Yet, the money is in the bank! None of the three ‘cities’ within the state; Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi is really habitable. There is no public water supply system in those areas. The Government of Obi competes with individuals in the provision of boreholes all over the state with his so called development partners. No place like that can attract talents who will contribute to the development of the state.

Little wonder then, that two out of every three property/land transactions in Asaba and Enugu involve indigenes of Anambra State. Most members, past and present of Anambra State House of Assembly and Commissioners including most of the bank managers in Anambra State, all have their houses in Asaba and Enugu from where they commute to Anambra State. Why not? Their children have to attend good schools which do not exist in Anambra State. What Obi has managed to achieve in six years, is sustaining the rural status of the state.

The only habitable estate in Awka Capital Territory is the Udoka Housing Estate built by the Chukuemeka Ezeife administration in 1991/92. Across the other side of the Enugu – Onitsha expressway is the Ngozika Estate built by Obi’s government of a quality much lower than the Jakande houses of the eighties. He claims to have secured accreditation for School of Health Technology, Obosi, School of Midwifery, Nkpor, School of Nursing, Iyienu. Fine! But these are institutions built by his predecessors and he is listing securing accreditation as his achievement.

He announced that he invested N4 billion of state funds in Orient Petroleum but it was conceptualized and set up by Dr. Mbadinuju. The Anambra State University was set up by the same Mbadinuju and when Peter Obi builds a faculty building or hostel in the school, he will advertise it as a monumental achievement. Yet he claims that there was nothing on ground when he became Governor of the state. Even the Women Development Centre, Awka which is Anambra’s equivalent of the International Conference Centre, Abuja [Don’t laugh] was built by Mbadinuju. And I ask, apart from the State Secretariat, what project of note has Peter Obi initiated and completed in the past six years?

Thisday newspaper in awarding Governor Obi (4) four stars in its rating of Governors stated among other things that he built 77 bridges and 103 Schools. These are unsubstantiated claims. Some bridges, yes but not a single school was built under Peter Obi. What he did was that he awarded contracts to the 177 town unions in Anambra State to build 4000 classroom blocks in the schools within their communities. Unprecedented absurdity! He has no coherent educational policy. He would donate computers to some schools, give some principals’ money directly to build toilets in their schools and then supply some with generators as the spirit moves him. When the cacophonous interventions failed, he then out of frustration, rather than a carefully thought out policy, handed over the schools to the missions to continue from where they stopped 40 years ago. Lord have mercy!!

Thisday again listed a new Onitsha hotel and convention centre under construction as one of his achievements. This brings me to the issue of transparency and due process. Contracts under Obi are generally not advertised and are usually arbitrarily awarded. This ongoing convention centre was one of the few advertised and tenders received from companies all over Nigeria. After the pre-qualification and opening of the financial and technical bids, Costain won the bid and was invited by the Anambra State Ministry of Commerce to collect the award letter. Before that could be done, Obi unilaterally awarded the contract to another company. Serious companies avoid Anambra State resulting in the poor quality of work seen in the projects undertaken by Obi’s government.

Governor Obi has announced two years to the end of his tenure that he will build a new Governor’s Lodge and Governor’s Office before he hands over in March 2014. Informed citizens are asking him not to bother. Since he has lived in a temporary governor’s lodge and operated from a temporary governor’s office for six years there’s no hurry.

Lest I forget, three years ago when people complained about the lack of development in the State, Governor Obi announced to Anambra people that he was developing a base map for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi with a United Nations group, Habitat in order to have orderly development. Great idea! Three years after, can someone please ask the Governor the status of the ‘base map’?


Hon. Chudi Offodile is a Lawyer and former member of the House of Representatives who served between 1999-2006 representing Awka North/Awka South Federal Constituency, Anambra State. He was also Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee of the House of Representatives.[/b]

SSS detains El Rufai at Awka

By Augustine Awvode on November 17, 2013

•He has no business in Anambra, says Obi

Interim Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Malam Nasir el-Rufai, was yesterday in Awka prevented from moving out of his hotel room to monitor the Anambra governorship election.

el-Rufai told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the ‘Finotel Hotel’ where he lodged that some armed men of the State Security Service (SSS) restrained him from moving out of the hotel to monitor the election.

He said:“I arrived in Awka by 7 p.m. on Friday and had a brief session with the APC candidate, Sen. Chris Ngige. When I came out to have my dinner, I saw three heavily armed SSS officers at the hotel.

“I asked them why they were following me; they told me that they were protecting me because Awka is not safe.

“I told them that I came with my own security. This morning, as I was about to have breakfast, they blocked the corridor and tried to restrain me from going out but I pushed by and went to the restaurant to eat.

“After my breakfast, I will be going to the APC Situation Room in town to monitor the election. I am being unlawfully detained here,’’ he said.

NAN reports that at this point, one of the SSS men entered the restaurant and confiscated the reporter’s tape recorder and deleted the recorded interview before returning it to her.

When contacted on telephone, the Director of SSS in the state, Mr. A.U. Okeiyi, confirmed the report, saying that el-Rufai was being protected.

“el-Rufai is not an ordinary person. If anything happens to him, they will blame the security,’’ he said.

Heavily armed security men were seen guarding the premises of the hotel.

Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, reacted angrily to the development.

He said the former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had no business in Anambra State on the day of election.

The governor said genuinely accredited observers are not hindered by anybody.

“Accredited observers are moving around freely. But I am not sure el-Rufai was accredited by INEC as an observer.

“Like I said before, he has no business or any reason to be in Anambra at this time. All he is doing is dragging the name of Anambra in the mud.

“I can’t go to Katsina and monitor a governorship election. This is a federation. Even if he belongs to a particular party, the party has chieftains in this state and people of the southeast extraction.

“People should know that we have one country and we must build it for our children. el- Rufai has no reason to be in Anambra State.

“Quote me anywhere. I can’t go to Katsina State or Kano or where ever he may come from and go and monitor elections there. He should stay there”.

slivertongue:
Take it from me, Elrufia is of no political weight in kaduna talk more of the North. He has played his card and everyone knows his character. Atiku brought him and Ribadu to the attention of Obj. He tried to run Yaradua street but ran away, GEJ brought him back but when he couldn't get patronage he resorted to religious antagonism, labeling GEJ North, anti Islam you know the rest.

Of the truth he won his first election through the support of the peoples of South Kaduna and Buhari, am sure you know how it ended between him and them. He didn't win 2019 &2023 but you know INEC behaved in some states. Elrufia used religion not only to win election but to be a king maker in kaduna state. He fought anyone with constructive ideas which differed from his so many played along knowing his penchant for blackmail and scotched earth politics.

He is powerless without executive power, He cannot win election or hold office without riding on the back of a prominent person. I don't see him leaving APC because he is of no political weight in the North. His visits seeks the renegotiating for his place in APC. No serious party will welcome a divisive character like him into there fold. Kwankwaso tried it and he started and ended in Kano. Ganduje could have retired him but for the dollar issue and unnecessary battles with the red cap movement.

If Obi and Elrufia runs on one ticket, mark my word that ticket will lose heavily in the South and the North. To my mind Elrufia is not a religious extremist, political hardliner or a die-hard of any ideology. He is a jobber who can adopt any antics to be patronized or to taste the political currents of the movement. Politics may be about permanent interest but it must draw lines on it's values. Obi is better without him, with him na crises.

naptu2:
https://thenationonlineng.net/sss-detains-el-rufai-awka/amp/

Ngorbungor:
May your bitter cry never ceases at the mention of Obi.

Obi came to an election with virtually an unknown party, no Governor, Senator, Rep member, even local government chairmen, a structureless party, nothing to even protect his vote and he still got 6.1million vote, destroy Tinubu in his own State with an APC governor, incumbent Speaker, and Ministers with just 8-9 month to election. Please Obi is not una mate.

Now his is now building the bridge you

naptu2:
https://thenationonlineng.net/sss-detains-el-rufai-awka/amp/

Beremx:
Not even Elrufai himself to dispute it. I'm waiting for his sons to debunk the rumour. Their silence speaks volume on the matter. I read on Twitter Obasanjo is the brain behind the merger.

Na wa o!

Penguin2:
This one bringing a 2018 article.

But as recent as 2022, Wike called APC 4th degree cancer and would never have anything to do with the party. Where is he today?

Elrufai has moved bro! Wake up

LegendHero:
You guys and conspiracy theory.

This remind me of the different lambs we heard during the last election about OBJ arranging a Russian lawyer to help Obi in court.

How will you think El-Rufai of all people will deputize Peter Obi? Fear God nao.

naptu2:
What this thread reminds me of is the day that someone told me that Goodluck Jonathan's spokesman didn't know anything about Goodluck Jonathan and that he knew for a fact that Goodluck Jonathan would contest the 2023 election on the platform of the APC (something that Goodluck Jonathan's spokesman had denied).

I thoroughly enjoyed that thread.

naptu2:
Muyiwa Adekeye is the media aide to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. He posted this on Thursday.

Muyiwa Adekeye:

I consider the most recent speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai as reflecting an unhealthy obsession with politics.

People have personal histories and relationships that predate political affiliations. It cannot be a hallmark of civilisation to have friends from within only your political party. When people visit each other or mingle across party lines, it is because human relationships exist, distinct from the political or the partisan.

Malam Nasir @elrufai is a senior member of the APC, one of the signatories to its merger documents, and a significant contributor to the party’s demonstrated viability. These contributions do not require that he treats friends as anathema on account of politics or maintains an antiseptic distance from them.

Malam Nasir @elrufai hosted some friends to Iftar on Tuesday, 19 March 2024. NSA Nuhu Ribadu was at the Iftar with a senior APC figure like Alh. Kashim Imam. SDP National Chairman Shehu Musa Gabam was among the friends who partook in the Iftar. Gabam was not accused of considering crossing over to the APC on account of that.

When Malam Nasir @elrufai visited Gabam the next day, he was merely returning a visit to a friend who happens to be SDP chairman.

Malam El-Rufai is known for being open and forthright. If he had any political decisions to make, it would not be in character to let them be subject to speculation.

Unfounded speculations about Malam Nasir @elrufai have become an industry that has delivered tons of lies and clickbaits in the last 18 years. This is unlikely to abate anytime soon, given the persistent obsession of its purveyors who relish in negativity and their tireless indulgence in conflating assumption with fact. A recent instance was when he visited former presidents late in 2023 to explain his Nigerian governance study book project covering each of their tenures, the speculators said it was about politics! That is why it is sometimes necessary to clarify matters lest the unwary be taken in.

Muyiwa Adekeye
21 March 2024

Previous thread: 2027: El-Rufai Sparks Defection Rumours With Visit To SDP Secretariat
https://www.nairaland.com/8037295/2027-el-rufai-sparks-defection-rumours

Penguin2:
Great submission!

And being from the north, you are helping me have a better insight into how things actually stand in the north especially Elrufai’s strength. Though I still think he would rally more northern powerbrokers to the Obi ticket than Datti was able to do.

But your last paragraph is very true because I’ve seen some Obidients swear to withdraw their support for Obi should he team up with Elrufai. And it would also affect Obi’s chances among Christian voters most especially northern Christians.

Elrufai’s baggage is too much that the idea is not seeming like it’s going to be possible.

If Kwankwaso is still interested in sucking Tinubu’s deek, then it’s best Obi sticks with Datti.

Like some Obidients argued, he won the last election with Datti, so, Obi doesn’t really any of those supposed heavyweights. What he needs is to get northern powerbrokers to allow his victory to stand if he wins again.

Penguin2:
Great submission!

And being from the north, you are helping me have a better insight into how things actually stand in the north especially Elrufai’s strength. Though I still think he would rally more northern powerbrokers to the Obi ticket than Datti was able to do.

But your last paragraph is very true because I’ve seen some Obidients swear to withdraw their support for Obi should he team up with Elrufai. And it would also affect Obi’s chances among Christian voters most especially northern Christians.

Elrufai’s baggage is too much that the idea is not seeming like it’s going to be possible.

If Kwankwaso is still interested in sucking Tinubu’s deek, then it’s best Obi sticks with Datti.

Like some Obidients argued, he won the last election with Datti, so, Obi doesn’t really any of those supposed heavyweights. What he needs is to get northern powerbrokers to allow his victory to stand if he wins again.

LegendHero:
Both you and the person you quoted are just wasting una time.

When it is the turn of the North, an El-Rufai on the ballot will defeat any Southern candidate just as a Kwakwanso on the ballot would.

You can’t use 2023 election to judge these Kwakwanso/ElRufai guys, you will miscalculate. Three strong muslims contested in 2023 and the sentiment in the air is that it is the turn of the South. Even at that, see the massive votes Atiku had in the North?

Now what do you think would happen if the sentiment is that it is the North turn and only El-Rufai or Kwakwanso man the ticket of the party?

Obi is a rookie. How can you contest against 3 Muslim candidate with a Ibo + church ridden Christian politics and still come third? It is a big shame.

slivertongue:
Boss, Tinubu is the President of Nigeria, we must accord him that respect regardless of his character which ain't presidential. Datti did a great work oo but you may not value it because they are not in the villa today. That INEC declare two rookies of polling 6.1 million votes tells you that they got more than that but were shortchanged.

The votes from Plateau, Abj, Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Gombe, Adamawa, Borno, kogi, Niger, Kano didn't come easy. We had to battle the ruling elites and INEC, INEC did more damage than the ruling class as the people came out in there numbers. Of course Datti had his hurdles but he is well connected and has the family name to speak for him. Northern power brokers are mostly politicians who seem to use INEC and the security forces to force their way to power. The above mentioned areas still turned out votes despite the elite conspiracy against him.

Northern Politicians of value are Atiku, SARS, Goje, Kwankwaso, Saraki, Wammako, these men 'gat the connect' to gather men across states but many of them didn't believe Obi could garner 10% of the votes thus the refusal of someone like Shagari to be his VP. some even questioned where obi would get campaign fundings, you know the rest. Obi is not the most popular Igbo man in the North, OUK and Rochas are. Rochas is a household name here, atleast in the urban North but no Igbo person or Southerner has brought a simple but coordinated campaign to North like Obi. Only MKO beats him. The funny thing is there are many Peter Obi's that campaigned for Peter Obi.

Elrufia won't add value to the ticket, his antics and antagonism against even Muslim elites is well known. He rallied imams on the side of APC from 2015 to 2023 playing a religious card but the situations.of the North today makes it worthless to campaign on region and religion. Don't also forget that the North ain't political homogeneous. There is the Muslim, Christian, Native, Fulani &immigrant North, these shape politics in the North.

Let me shock you, the North worked against Atiku thus his loss severally. The campaign of calumny against Obi was engineered from the South not from the North. The North is a conservative society yet liberal and ain't scared of any Southerner ruling Nigeria. Ask yourself wasn't it North that supported Shagari and Ekwueme. Didn't we know that Ekwueme was Igbo? It wasn't the North that worked against GEJ, it was his follow Southerners who lobbied the North to fight a man who gave them more advantage. Life was good under PDP but your fellow Southerners truncated it with their sinister ambition.

Atiku can't win election until the North stands up for him and for Obi, he needs to do more home work south wards. Obi's problem ain't the North but the South may betray him to the North just like the North betrayed Atiku to the South.

Penguin2:
We are talking 2027 and you are talking about 2031.

No run speed