h By Suleiman Umaru
When Peter Obi, Obi , a former governor of the south eastern state of Anmbra and the Labour Party, LP, Presidential Candidate for the 2023, Presidential election raised alarm of plot by the Nigerian government and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, president –elect and his allies to de-market him , nobody took him serious.
His problem with the Nigerian government may have worsened when he dragged Tinubu, the former Lagos state governor and the President-elect to Presidential election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, reclaim his alleged mandate which he believes was stolen. The LP Candidate, who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’the election was marred by rigging and manipulations’’.
He noted that ‘’the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under the close watch of Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, has violated its own regulations when it announced the results, when at the time of the announcement, the total polling unit results had yet to be fully uploaded and transmitted electronically as required by the electoral Act’’.
Tinubu, who is currently in Europe ,having, a bed rest, may not have found the Obi’s petition to the PEPT, to upturn the Presidential election funny , as he has asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petition, insisting that it was incompetent handle the case.
His allies may have gone back to the drawing board to plot on how to de-mark and humiliate the Anambra state former governor and LP, Flag bearer, for the 2023, elections. Lai Mohammed, a one-time Tinubu’s Commissioner of Information in Lagos state, during Tinubu’s Administration who had gone back to Osun, his home state to contest the governorship election in 2015, and won and now minister of Information and Culture had accused him of Treason in the North American country of the United States, US, recently for inciting the people to riot over the outcome of the 2023, election.
The former Anambra state governor, who many see as ‘’the Conscience of the people’’ may have further played into the hands of the ruling APC , government when Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, his Vice Presidential Candidate during the election has asked President Muhammadu Buhari, who is deeply committed to handing over to Tinubu, the President-elect ‘’not to hold his inaguaration’’, on the ground that the APC, Candidate, has ‘’failed to satisfy the requirements of Section 84(2) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended for election to the office of the President’’.
According to the LP, Vice Presidential Candidate, going by the Provisions of that Section of the Constitution, ‘’the rightful winner is one who has the highest number of votes cast at the election and has not less than one quarter of the votes cast at the two thirds of all the states of the Federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT’’.
He had aid that swearing Tinubu, the APC, Candidate , who has not met the requirements of the Constitution is like ending Nigerian Democracy’’, urging Justice Ariwola Olukayode , the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, ‘’not to partake in the unconstitutionality’’. Note that Channels Television was fined N5 million by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC , for allowing the LP, Presidential Candidate to use its station to pass his views across to Nigerians.
Perhaps, working in the interest of the Nigerian government, a coalition of Arewa Elders has accused Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate and Babba-Ahmed, the Vice Presidential Candidate of’’ over- heating the polity and inciting the public with their statements and utterances’’ over the outcome of the 2023 polls. The Arewa Elders had described the recent call on the Katsina state born Nigerian President by Baba-Ahmed, the LP, Presidential Candidate running mate to hand over to Tinubu, as amounting ‘’to exhibiting anti-Democratic tendencies that could trigger civil disobedience’’ in the country.
The LP, Presidential Candidate may have shocked Nigerians when he said on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, that ‘’there is intense pressure on him from both official and unofficial quarters to leave the country’’ and relocate to Europe or the US, which he had seen as ‘’trying to divert the country’s attention from the infractions that had marred the 2023Presidential polls.
The recent incident at Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom, UK, where the LP, Candidate was detained and harassed by the country’s Immigration officers bear eloquent testimony to the conspiracy to rope Obi in and get him humiliated outside the country.
Given an insider information, of the incident, Diran Onifade, LP, Presidential Campaign Organisation spokesperson, disclosed that Obi was questioned for a long time, at the Heathrow airport in a country where he had lived for over a decade ‘’.
According to him,Obi has arrived the Heathrow airport on April 7, 2023, being a Good Friday, and joined the queue for the official airport protocols when he was accosted by an Immigration official who was said to have handed him a detention note and asked to step aside, for questioning, which clearly shows the hand of the Nigerian government, NIS and DSS in the matter. The people who knew the LP, Presidential Candidate were said to have raised alarm wondering why he was being ‘’delayed at the Airport’’.
The question on the lips of most people was who issued the cloned International Passport bearing Obi’s name to the impersonator believed to be at large. The Opposition People’s Democratic Party,PDP, has asked the Nigerian President, Mohammed, minister of Interior, and IdirisIsah Jere, the Comptroller General , Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, to produce the impersonator who was sharing Obi’s identity to security personnel at the Airport.
The report making the rounds was that Obi, was being detained and questioned for impersonation offense, which suggested that someone must have been impersonating him London. The impersonator who is still at large may have been mandated to commit unimaginable frauds that could have implicated Obi in a series of forbidden Acts and even framed in a such a manner that he could be picked up in any city in any part of the world that could have been a huge embarrassment to him , family and his party , including the Obedient Movement and indeed , Nigeria ., and facilitate his repatriation and subsequent detention by the Nigerian Government.
The PDP, says the Buhari government and Jere,Comptroller General, NIS, and Rishi Sunak , led British government and the Immigration officials have an explanation to offer to Nigerians and the International Community over what happened to the former Anambra state governor at the Heathrow airport.
They have their reason .This is because of the incident of July 5, 1984, when Buhari, as a Major General and the then Nigerian Head of State made attempts with the secret police to kidnap Umaru Dikko, the minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, described as very powerful, over during the Administration of Shehu Shagari, now , late, that was overthrown by the military on December 31, 1983, over alleged staling of $4 billion of government money at the Heathrow airport but was aborted. Security experts see the Obi incident at the Heathrow airport, London,as another Diplomatic blunder for the Nigerian government under Buhari just as it failed to crate Late Dikko, as a Diplomatic baggage from the Heathrow airport back to Nigerian in 1984, it also failed to preside over the forceful repatriation of Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate, for the 2023, Presidential election to Nigeria and o permanently silence him.
At present, the former Anambra state , who is still mirrowing everything that has happened to him at the Heathrow airport on Wednesday, April 5, as a film, is currently going on around the country ‘’doing Charity work , visiting health and educational institutions and making donations and winning awards , both local and International’’. For now, Obidients fear that’’ his life is in danger both in Nigeria and outside the country.’’.
