Senator Yusuf Datti Baba‑Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice‑presidential candidate, said that the widespread acceptance of his running mate, Peter Obi, across the country will lead the LP to victory in the February 25 presidential election. Speaking on Thursday at the palace of the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, during a courtesy visit, Datti argued that the pendulum is swinging in Obi’s favour because he is the only major candidate who remains incorruptible and left a clean record after serving as governor.
He noted that, besides being the most decent and qualified candidate, 2023 marks the turn of the Ndigbo and the turn of Christians to produce Nigeria’s next president. “Your Majesty, I wish to inform you that we have reviewed the records of all past governors in Nigeria and found that only my principal, Peter Obi, left a clean record and money in the government coffers when he left office. That is why anti‑graft agencies have never summoned him for questioning, whereas other former governors plundered the treasury and left it empty or indebted,” he said. Datti added that Obi’s clean record, his origin from the required geopolitical zone, and his Christian background make him the appropriate person to unite the country and revive its dwindling economy.
On a more serious note, Datti urged Nigerians to seize the “golden opportunity” offered by God to elect Obi as president, so that his experience and qualifications can steer the nation onto the right path. “Otherwise, we will suffer from a lifetime mistake in the future. All we need is free and fair elections, 100 percent of the Ndigbo votes, and the rest will become history,” he declared.
The vice‑presidential candidate also criticised the naira redesign, describing its implementation as poor and an indication of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd.) weakness. “It has been done and it stays, but it was poorly implemented. Everything about this government and its policies—economy, security, and the level of corruption—is poorly done. We pray that the election will go well, because, as His Majesty said, a well‑conducted election can open the space for good governance,” he added.
In response, Igwe Achebe said that traditional rulers throughout the South‑East are working hard to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections, urging the electorate to vote according to their conscience regardless of any money offered by overzealous politicians. As chairman of both the South‑East Council of Traditional Rulers and the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, he read a communiqué issued after their Wednesday meeting in Enugu. The statement, delivered by the Obi of Onitsha, directed all traditional rulers in Igbo land to organise town‑hall meetings in their communities to sensitize people about shunning election boycotts or sit‑at‑home protests and to encourage mass turnout on election day for any candidate of their choice.
Achebe appealed to INEC to guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections and called on law‑enforcement agencies to protect the electorate from political thugs and unknown gunmen.
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