General
South East Group Describes Soludo’s Comments on Peter Obi as Outright Jealousy
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Governor of Anambra State, Mr Charles Soludo, has been lambasted by a pan-Igbo socio-political pressure organisation known as the South East Revival Group (SERG) over his comments on Mr Peter Obi, a former governor of the state.
On Monday, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released an article where he said Mr Obi, a presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, cannot win the exercise.
This did not go down well with some supporters of Mr Obi and SERG, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said Mr Soludo should focus on his campaign promises and “first take Anambra State to the Dubai status” he reportedly promised when he asked residents of the state for votes.
In the statement issued by the president and national coordinator of the group, Mr Willy Ezugwu, SERG said that “this is not the first time predictions on Peter Obi’s victory at elections came and failed.
According to the regional association, “It was common knowledge in Anambra State in the build-up to the 2010 governorship election the popular prediction was that Professor Soludo as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would defeat Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
“In fact, most prominent Anambra people predicted that Peter Obi won’t win a second tenure even before the governorship primary.
“But on February 7, 2010, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Peter Obi the winner of the 2010 Anambra State Gubernatorial election, where he roundly defeated his former schoolmate at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
“So, Governor Soludo knows that his predictions against Peter Obi have never come to pass, not even his own election victory prediction in 2010.
“The SERG, therefore, enjoins Governor Soludo to face his job of governing Anambra State and ensuring that all his campaign promises to his people on Soludo Solution and on his ability to turn Anambra State into a Dubai overnight are waiting to be fulfilled.
“So far, Soludo has not been able to solve a single major problem of the Anambra State since he assumed office.
“As a matter of fact, his administration has turned Anambra into one of the unsafest states in Nigeria, going by recent security realities, including the consistent attacks on Soludo’s hometown.
“His approach to solving security problems in Anambra State has so far failed to yield any results. It has rather aggravated the security situation.
“Soludo claimed that Peter Obi cannot win because the Labour Party presidential candidate lacks the requisite structures to win the 2023 election.
“This is not new; it has become a wife’s tale as the Nigerian people, the poor, the oppressed, and those facing security threats in Anambra State and across the country have, in the past few months, shown Nigerians that they are the structures any politician needs to win in the 2023 general elections.
“For us, the sudden outburst of Governor Soludo against Peter Obi can only be explained as outright jealousy, having seen the unimagined rising profile of the Labour Party presidential candidate.
“The SERG believes that the opposition has hired the Anambra State Governor to do some dirty political jobs from Peter Obi’s home state in their efforts to course a crack in the solidarity and support the Labour Party presidential candidate is enjoying in the entire South East.
“On this note, Nigerians must recall that ahead of the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi never enjoyed massive support from the South East.
“The fact is that the current support being enjoyed by Peter Obi in the region was spurred by people from outside Igbo land, like the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, whose leader, Ayo Adebanjo began the clamour for a president of Nigeria of South East extraction even before the presidential primary elections.
“The same was the case in the North with northern groups, including Unified Northern Nigeria Youth Forum (UNNYF), whose Director General of the group, Dr Ibrahim Bature, on March 21, 2022, told journalists during the group’s road walk in Minna, Niger State capital, calling on Nigerians to support Igbo man for Presidency come 2023 for fairness and justice.
“Peter Obi is running for the President of Nigeria, not the President of Igbos. So, to measure Peter Obi’s presidential victory from the lens of Igbo votes like Governor Soludo is the most myopic political calculation.
“In any case, power belongs to God, and He gives and takes away power from individuals at will, and no individual can arrogate to himself the power to determine whom God has chosen to make the President of Nigeria in 2023.
“It is only God, through the votes of the Nigerian electorates, that can decide who takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We, therefore, advise Governor Soludo to face the issues of governance, especially insecurity, and get working as the people will decide his fate in the next governorship election in Anambra State based on his four-year scorecard,” SERG said.
Accusing Governor Soludo of taking his attacks on Mr Obi to “a petty level”, the group said “we are shocked to read a series of tweets from Governor Soludo making a case for PDP, even as an APGA Governor.
“Soludo tweeted that He (Peter Obi) attended my inauguration on March 17th. A few weeks later, he requested, and I obliged him to use the Anambra State government facility to launch his presidential bid under PDP. I was surprised to read in the news later that he had defected to LP (a party with literally zero structure), thereby attempting to weaken the same PDP he saw as the saviour a few weeks earlier.
“When has leaving a political party become an offence? Did Soludo not leave the PDP to join APGA?
“Did Soludo not work against PDP in Anambra State in partnership with former Governor Willie Obiano to ensure that Obiano returned for a second tenure as the state Governor against the PDP candidate?
“Beyond mere jealousy, it is now very obvious that Governor Soludo has been purchased by the opponents of Peter Obi to work against the popular wish of Nigerians but he has failed, having lost a sense of priority”, the group stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
