African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has strongly condemned the violent ambush targeting the convoy of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi during his solidarity visit to Benue State. Speaking through a statement issued on Wednesday by his campaign spokesperson, Kenneth Okonkwo, the former Vice President labeled the incident unacceptable, anti-democratic, and deeply shameful, while urging security agencies to launch an immediate investigation and bring the culprits to justice.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

1. African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has fiercely criticized former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed following Datti’s remarks casting doubt on Peter Obi’s ability to transform Nigeria. Datti had previously asserted that none of the opposition contenders challenging President Bola Tinubu possessed the capacity to change the nation, prompting a sharp rebuke from Sowore.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

   Taking to task the decision to field Obi during the 2023 elections, Sowore questioned the integrity of pushing a candidate whose competence is now seemingly being called into question by his own former running mate. He argued that relying heavily on youth popularity and clever political packaging deceived the public, warning that superficial appeal should not mask a lack of genuine capability.

   Voicing his critical stance on the matter, Sowore stated:

   “That was why I confronted them. I’m saying to you: if you knew that your candidate, Peter Obi, was not competent to be president in 2023, why did you have to drag Nigeria through that whole process of presenting such a candidate when you knew it and are now saying it?”

   He further maintained that voters need to closely examine the deceptive mechanics behind political popularity rather than just the numbers, adding:

   “This whole idea that he was popular and youth followed him, It’s all part of the campaigning that brought us here today. It’s exactly that: you can package a candidate and then discover that everything you did in packaging made people fall for what was false and fraudulent. Then, that person who was the heartbeat from that effort has now come out and said, ‘The person that was presented to you in 2023 wasn’t who you thought he was. If he were to be president today, your problems would be compounded.’ That’s what brought this conversation we’re having today, and I’m saying we should interrogate that and discuss it. I don’t think we’re discussing why he was popular; we’re discussing how he became popular and on which grounds he became popular. That was my position then: that all these things were packaged to fool the public and fool some youths.”