By David Owei,Bayelsa

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC),
Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to abandon his ambition for a second term in office, declaring that Nigeria needs a president with the energy and capacity to address the country’s mounting challenges.

Obi, advised Tinubu to retire from the race and return home to rest, insisting that the country could no longer afford leadership that, in his assessment, lacked the energy required to govern effectively.

He spoke on Friday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during the commissioning of the NDC campaign office and secretariat, where he criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government over poverty, hunger, unemployment, insecurity, poor healthcare and inadequate electricity supply.

Describing the country’s socioeconomic situation as troubling, Obi said millions of Nigerians were struggling to meet their basic needs, while access to essential services such as healthcare, education and employment remained a major challenge.

“Today, we have a country that produces the highest number of poor people in the world. Today, we have a country where our people are hungry. Nigerians don’t know where the next meal will come from,” he said.

He lamented that some Nigerians had resorted to seeking spiritual intervention instead of medical treatment because of inadequate healthcare facilities, adding that the absence of quality schools and employment opportunities had further worsened the situation.

Obi said the NDC was offering Nigerians an alternative political direction anchored on national unity, security, production, accountability and economic opportunities.

“We are telling you that NDC is coming to build a new Nigeria that is possible. We want to move Nigeria from consumption to production. We will start by uniting the country,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor pledged that an NDC administration would tackle insecurity, strengthen public institutions and ensure that Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic or geographical backgrounds, felt a sense of belonging.

He particularly condemned the persistent cases of kidnapping and attacks on communities, promising a more decisive security response if elected.

Obi also promised to make public education accessible, saying his administration would work with state governments to provide classrooms and ensure free basic education at the primary and secondary levels.

On power supply, he pledged that an NDC government would produce, transmit and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity, compared with what he described as the approximately 4,000 megawatts currently being generated.

He further promised to support industries and small businesses to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians, while proposing the development of seaports across the South-South region.

According to him, the proposed ports would serve areas including Warri, Port Harcourt, Bayelsa and Calabar, while improved road infrastructure would connect the states and stimulate economic activities.

Obi also took a swipe at the Federal Government over the country’s borrowing, challenging Tinubu to explain how the funds obtained through loans had been utilised.

He questioned what he described as the President’s reluctance to visit Bayelsa State for political engagement, despite the state’s contribution to the country’s oil revenues.

Obi said it was unfair for a President to benefit from the resources generated from the Niger Delta without adequately engaging with the people and addressing their development concerns.

He also criticised the President’s foreign travels, promising that, if elected, his own international engagements would be strictly in Nigeria’s interest and that Nigerians would be kept informed of his whereabouts.

Making a direct appeal for a change of leadership, Obi said: “The man is tired. He needs to go home. Tinubu must go and rest. We want him to go and rest.”

He added that Nigeria needed a government that was accessible and accountable, rather than one allegedly run around family interests.

Earlier, the founder of the NDC and Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Henry Seriake Dickson, urged Bayelsans to give Obi and all the party’s candidates in the state overwhelming electoral support.

Dickson, who is also seeking re-election to the Senate, made the appeal during the homecoming celebration organised for Obi and the commissioning of the party’s secretariat.

The former Bayelsa governor accused the APC of failing to deliver on its promises to the people, while also criticising what he described as the poor political treatment of some individuals who had served in government.

He called on party members and supporters to mobilise across communities to secure support for the NDC candidates.

Dickson also cautioned supporters against intimidation and electoral violence, urging them to remain peaceful but resolute in defending their voting rights.

He said elections should be won through votes rather than the deployment of security personnel to intimidate voters.

“We don’t do politics with violence. No weapon, no bullet. Overwhelm them with the sheer force in your community. Vote and you declare and you follow up,” he told supporters.

Dickson said he had worked with Obi for about 25 years, describing their political relationship as one built on longstanding cooperation.

He urged the people to listen to Obi and support the party’s campaign, promising to join the mobilisation efforts across communities in the state.

By George Mgbeleke

Ahead of the January 16,2027 Presidential Election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of its commitment to conducting credible, transparent and peaceful general elections in Nigeria in 2027.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja when he received a pre-election fact-finding mission from the regional organisation at the commission’s national headquarters.

Amupitan said the commission was strengthening its operational, technological and security arrangements to ensure a credible electoral process across the country.

He disclosed that Nigeria’s registered voter population had exceeded 103 million, with the commission preparing to conduct elections across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering 774 local government areas, 8,809 registration areas and 176,846 polling units.

According to him, the presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

The INEC chairman said the commission had adopted a field-based approach to preparations, including zonal readiness assessment tours across the six geopolitical zones.

He disclosed that the commission had completed assessments in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East, while the South-South exercise would take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Amupitan explained that the assessments provided opportunities to engage field officials, inspect logistics and infrastructure and consult traditional rulers and community leaders on preparations for the elections.

On the electoral timetable, he said INEC had completed nine of the 14 major statutory activities scheduled for the 2027 elections.

He said the commission had concluded three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and completed the physical display of the Preliminary Register of Voters at registration areas nationwide.

The preliminary register, he added, had also been published on the commission’s online portal to enable Nigerians to scrutinise their details and submit claims and objections ahead of the certification of the final register on December 15, 2026

He further identified technical cooperation in combating electoral disinformation, improving election logistics in difficult terrains and strengthening inclusive voter education as areas where ECOWAS support would be valuable.

The INEC chairman also urged the regional body to sustain diplomatic engagement with political actors, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to promote peaceful elections and strengthen democratic commitments.

He stressed that the responsibility for credible elections extended beyond the electoral commission, noting that political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies all had important roles to play.

According to him, political parties must uphold internal democracy and peaceful campaigning, while civil society organisations should intensify voter education and the media must remain committed to combating fake news and digital disinformation.

He said the findings and recommendations of the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission would provide valuable feedback for the Commission as it fine-tuned its operational plans ahead of the 2027 polls.

Amupitan assured the delegation that INEC was prepared to provide detailed briefings on its electoral preparations and operational readiness during the technical sessions.

He said Nigeria’s democratic stability was closely connected to the collective peace, security and prosperity of the West African sub-region.

The chairman reaffirmed INEC’s neutrality, declaring that the Commission had no preferred candidate or political party in the forthcoming elections.

“Our sole allegiance is to the rule of law, the sovereign will of the Nigerian electorate, and the democratic progress of our nation,” he said.

He expressed appreciation to ECOWAS for its continued partnership and commitment to democratic governance in West Africa, while wishing the delegation a successful continuation of its fact-finding mission.

Earlier, the Head of the ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission, Victor Bockarie Foh, said the delegation was in Nigeria to assess INEC’s preparedness and that of other stakeholders ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Foh, a former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, said the mission was part of ECOWAS’ conflict prevention framework and was being undertaken in accordance with decisions of the regional bloc’s Heads of State and Government.

He said the delegation would engage political party leaders, government officials, electoral authorities, civil society organisations and other stakeholders involved in the electoral process.

The mission, he added, would also obtain relevant legal documents governing the elections and gather information on the political atmosphere, candidates and conditions under which the polls would be conducted.

Foh said the findings would help ECOWAS identify areas where the regional organisation could support INEC and other stakeholders to promote peaceful and credible elections.

A representative of the delegation described the visit as a statutory engagement conducted whenever a member state was preparing for elections.

He said the mission was particularly interested in hearing directly from INEC about its level of preparedness and identifying possible areas requiring additional support.

The delegation also sought clarification during the meeting on whether discussions should continue in the presence of television cameras or proceed privately.

Its representative explained that the mission was mindful of the need to protect sensitive information that neither the commission nor the delegation might be prepared to disclose publicly.

The ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact-Finding Mission was led by former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Victor Bockarie Foh, with former Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and former Speaker of the Parliament of Sierra Leone, Dr. Abbas Chernor Bundu, serving as Co-Head of Mission.

Also on the delegation was ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Francess Piagie Alghali, alongside other distinguished members and technical experts.

By David Owei, Bayelsa

The Peoples Democratic Party, Bayelsa State has called on the Prosperity Administration being led by Governor Douye Diri to publish the details of money spent during the 30th years anniversary of the state to enable the public know how their resources were spent.

The state chairman of the party, George Turnah made the demand on Wednesday in Yenagoa during the party’s SEC meeting.

He said “We demand that the Diri administration urgently publishes in naira and kobo exactly on how much was spent on Bayelsa at thirty celebration. And show the budgeting line that authorized that spending, stressing that until this is done the administration owes Bayelsa State a public apology for misusing their scarce resources.”

“The hunger, the hardship, and the weight of life that rests on our people. God has sent us alive to see this day”

As a political party, we are indeed grateful that God has preserved the people of the People’s Democratic Party both in Bayelsa and at the national level. When some of those who grew inside this same party, God used some of us under the leadership of His Excellency Chief Dr. Yesom Wike to rescue, restore, rebuild this party.”

“Today I stand before you as an opposition leader to speak truths. I speak so that ordinary Bayelsans can see clearly who has moved with them and who has failed to stand with them.

“I speak so that the people of the Democratic Party will be seen for what they truly is. The only serious pathway left for the development, prosperity, and empowerment of our people”

“We are not where we should be, but we are also not where we were as of 1996. congratulate and thank every leader who has carried the burden of this state”.

According to him the thirty years of statehood is not endorsement for wasteful celebration as done by the Douye Diri administration while ordinary Bayelsans go to bed hungry, parents cannot pay school fees, hospitals have no drugs and roads remain a death trap.

The government spent huge sums of public money on a lavish celebration. Some reports put a total cost at 15 billion Naira, others say the state government spent 25billion naira . What ever that is the true figure, the 2026 appropriation law of Bayelsa State contains no provision for such an occasion.

That means the money was spent outside the budget.
In any serious democracy that certainly would have been an impeachable offense.

The state house assembly that should have checked this waste has shown that it is a rubber stamp.

He started ” l came into leadership with character and integrity and I have for once been disorganized by paid data boys who attacked me on social media and I will never be.

He posited that he had stayed focused for the job of the opposition holding the government to account and rebuilding the party into the vehicle that can lead Bayelsa out of poverty.

He said throughout the six years of Dr. Good luck Jonathan administration he did not receive any contract form his government not in his name not in the name of anybody on my behalf and he challenged anybody who was in the service of Nigeria for the presidency to ministries to departments to agencies.

He said “Any human being living or dead that gave me any contract anywhere in Nigeria or called me any time to say Mr President said we should give you this to help yourself or if there is any list recoomending to people and my name was there, let them come and say so”

“When I served as Special Assistant on youth development at NDDC I left foot prints ”

He averred that Ogbia people were carrying fake rumors that he was given contract by President Jonathan to build Ogbia village but he converted the money, adding that
today the same people who procured my prosecution have gone again to tarnish my image on face book, they should remember that their own principal himself is also under the EFFCC investigation. If they don’t know they should go and ask him.

“The Attorney General of Bayelsa state had to rush to court to stop further investigation at all cost.
I hear he Turnah um the one telling you. I do not fear death and I know that my life is God’s hand and I will continue to speak truth to power at all times
Any one who has any records that George Turnah was convicted for money laundering, for obtaining money by false pretence, for forgery, or for conspiracy which where the offences for which I was charged, the person should bring it out.
If you have any document that I was convicted by any court let the person bring them before the Bayelsa public.”he said