The Comrade

Selling electoral legitimacy is like sweet-sweet codeine for these judges They have tasted the sweetness from the dark art of stealing & selling the people's will, and they are not willing to let go

‘Tinubu is Campaign Stunned, While Obi is Campaign Paranoid’ Within a week, two notable presidential campaign flag-off events occurred that indicates a heightened panic level across the incumbent and third-party candidates for the 2027 presidential election First is an unexpected low-energy, low-turnout, low-momentum APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna state that left @officialABAT embarrassed. That campaign was so abysmal, with error ladened submissions ranging from the wrong contextual usage of the term ‘AI’ to sycophantic, god-level praises of Bola as the ‘tamer of the Atlantic’ to blatantly fabricated project delivery in NW region In short, everything in that programme seems forced, from the poor crowd size to the concocted projects. If the governor of the state promised to deliver, then he failed woefully, signalling the unpopularity of the president in a way that no money or rented crowd or manufactured infrastructure projects can buy. These incidents culminated with Bola’s interim abandonment of the campaign trail for a surprise tax-payers funded foreign trip to cool off and prevent a quick succession of such embarrassment Now, while Bola campaign was flopping due to grass root rejection in northern Nigeria, @PeterObi, suspecting the same fate awaits him decided to flag off his campaign rally in his native SE where he is guaranteed of notable crowd size. This is an insurance knowing that his supporters has been diminished since 2023, and without the national spread required to win a presidential election Peter knew for certain that if he attempts to campaign outside his native SE, it immediately brings his political vulnerability into the public glare which will demoralise his supporters and embolden his opponents. Note that a recent campaign rally his party conducted in FCT had only a handful of reluctant and disinterested supporters participating, even though this is a territory he won overwhelmingly in 2023. Seeing this failed FCT rally and the flopped Bola presidential flag-off got Peter paranoid, forcing him to re-route his campaign to Enugu state Either way, whatever technique Bola and Peter decides to apply to conceal their lack of political popularity and inelectability in the 2027 presidential polls, the inescapable truth will inevitably be presented to Nigerians with time. Summarily, both of them can run, but can’t hide the truth for so long. They can keep running from their political reality, but only live to ‘politically die’ another day

Kwankwaso: The Political Contractor in Chief- A Rejoinder In a recent remark, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the reluctant Vice Presidential candidate of an outlier opposition political party NDC cried out with an spurious accusations claiming party men and women of ADC, the mainstream opposition party for attacking him for working for the incumbent party APC These assertions by RMK is based on false reasoning, and can be said to be partially true or untrue. It is untrue because these accusations are already in the public domain, and not limited to members of the ADC. In short, the accusation is more heightened within the northern political eco-system, especially amongst the Talakawa who have notoriously nick-named Kwankwaso as the ‘Kano Snake’ for his dubious 2027 political conducts And then it is true because every of RMK’s action since 2023 raises eyebrows. For a man that bragged being superior to Peter in every endeavours of life to eventually become his VP, which he so much detest, so what changed if not in service of a mouth-watery contract from APC? Recall, that few weeks before @KwankwasoRM joined the ADC, he had been engaged in endless negotiations with Bola in APC, at one point he was seen strolling out of Aso-Rock Villa. And then when he finally joined the ADC, left with @PeterObi almost immediately to the NDC in service of the political interest of the incumbent, and never the opposition The aftermath of RMK’s action has not been different. It has been characterised by so many lacklustre defence of Peter, his refusal to acknowlegde Peter as his boss, and non-targeted, low-energy political campaigns intentionally designed to make no impact for their ticket and political party. Recently, RMK was allegedly spotted in a compromising position with the Bola presidential campaign DG Senator Yari, and if the reason isn’t for the supposed contract, then to discuss what exactly? Also, his unhinged continual attacks and name-dropping of the main opposition @atiku , while almost never mentioning or attacking the incumbent he supposedly wants to unseat as a running mate makes it even more suspicious at best and treacherous at worst As the 2027 political campaign progresses, it becomes more apparent to the public that RMK is not a running mate going for a win, but needs the campaign as a means to a future end From a needless public declaration of the one-term deal signed with @PeterObi, RMK and his adviser Buba Galadima sees Peter’s campaign as an opportunity to market RMK in the South to solve a southern popularity problem associated with a fringe northern politician like RMK. To achieve their 2031 plot, they intentionally have to guarantee the reelection of APC’s Bola, rather than ADC’s Atiku. Their lazy maths is easy to see from miles afar While it is a norm for Nigerian politicians to scheme, it is seeming like RMK 2027 schemes has gone beyond the standard of Nigerian politicians, and to an extent that irritates. For the first time in modern Nigerian history, we have a VP candidate treacherously rooting for an election loss for the very ticket he is running on And let’s be clear, the political treachery of RMK here doesn’t automatically make Peter a victim, as Peter by account of his own actions has been treacherous too and is also scheming in his own corner. Theirs is a ticket built on treachery, they are both being clever than half to each other, where both believes they are maliciously using each other to further their respective political ambitions. This is both comical and toxic at same time To conclude, rather than shedding crocodile tears for being called out for his double dealings, RMK, the supposed contractor-in-chief should focus on fulfilling any contractual terms within any agreement framework entered in a bid to undercut the main opposition ADC and Atiku. But in doing this, @KwankwasoRM must be rest assured that ADC and her members will be responding to this offshoot political wing of the APC led by him

Peter Obi and the Anambra State Governors Pensions Bill 2009 A lot has been said about claims made by Ex-Gov Peter Obi on how he draws no pension benefits from Anambra state as a former governor. This has been a very important factor that feeds into his trust capital, especially when compared to his other Ex-Governor peers To determine the validity of this claim, we must first interrogate records. This is important because while Ex-Governors like Bola Tinubu has been endlessly criticised for enabling such luxurious lifetime benefits on tax payers money for just a 4-8yrs public service, the likes of @PeterObi has been made the exception in the making of the incorruptible image he portrays today Now, the record shows that in October 2009, Gov Peter signed into law a state assembly bill called 'The State Governors Pensions 2009'. Essentially, the bill provides for lifetime pension for a person who held office as Governor and Deputy Governor in accordance with the law, at a rate equivalent to his last salary in office, and subject to be reviewed from time to time by the incumbent Governor on the advice of the state Accountant General It also provides for an official car, two personal aides and provision of adequate security for his person during his lifetime at the expense of the state government Other provisions includes allowances for cook, steward, driver and gardener to be determined from time to time by the incumbent Governor on the advice of the Head of Service, and then medical attention for his person, subject to the approval of the incumbent Governor This is a replica of pension laws passed in almost all the 36 states of the federation (excluding federal capital territory, Abuja) and meant solely to provide luxury to Ex Governors and Deputy Governors, regardless of whether they can afford such luxury themselves or not Now that it has been established that Gov Peter signed into law the very same bill Ex-Governors like @officialABAT is criticised for, it places a moral burden of proof on his supporters to substantiate the correctness of the administrative philosophies like lean, prudent and incorruptible governance being advanced and sold to the public by Gov Peter Recall that Gov Peter has often claimed that he draws no pension benefits from the state he governed. Assuming this to be true, it still doesn't separate him from his peers, considering he gave life to the same bill he attempts to distance himself from. Anyone who enables a system cannot turn around to exempt himself from that very system he activated The very moment Gov Peter pulled out his pen to assent to that bill granting such luxurious benefits to Ex-Governors and deputies with tax payers money, he lost the moral right to argue to be a proponent of a lean, prudent and responsibile governance. This is a bill that impacts just a demography of a privileged few, which he conveniently happens to be part of Therefore, if Gov Peter had the foresight to know he won't participate in these benefit largesse on tax payers funds, then was he trying to set a luxurious retirement stage for his past and future colleagues? And also, why dubiously reminding the public of how he draws no pension benefits from the state, and failing to mention that he signed into law this same benefit bill he so much disaproves? Did Gov Peter also aided and abetted state institutionalised corruption like his other Ex-Governors peers? Sadly, I end with more questions than answers as I put this issue to rest for now References: vanguardngr.com/2009/10/anam… informationng.com/2018/03/fo…

Peter Obi: The Maradona of Petrol Subsidy Before 2023 election, all the major presidential candidates posited the same policy position of removing petrol subsidy, albeit in different ways Sequel to that, @officialABAT admin went ahead to remove the long existing subsidy regime. By abruptly removing subsidy at the demand-side after his inauguration, Bola admin went against his manifesto policy statement where he stated subsidy will be removed in phase, even though NNPC reports show subsidy were continually paid as ‘under-recovery’ and ‘energy security’ expenses at the supply-side long after May 29th, 2023 in contravention to the PIA act 2021, but this is a story for another day There is a consensus Bola’s subsidy removal implementation was bungled in principle. There is also no clarity if supply-side subsidy is still being paid by the FG even if no subsidy is seen at the demand-side, and the resultant is economic hardship due to unaffordable petrol price at the pumps The present micro-economic realities of Nigerians reinforces the fact that Bola’s subsidy removal policy has failed and needs a quick reversal to stop the bleeding, so to immediately pull Nigerians back out of poverty. Hence, Atiku by factoring all these data and information, proposed an economic recovery plan for a new regime of petrol subsidy, driven at the production side of petrol refining The Atiku subsidy proposal signals an economic hope that resonated with Nigerians, reverberating throughout the length and breadth of the nation. The widespread acceptance of this policy position was clearly highlighted in the recent SBM intelligence nationwide survey, with 67% of Nigerians supportive and enthusiastic about the prospect of this Atiku plan The growing popularity of @atiku as the poster boy of the new petrol subsidy regime triggered different reactions from different demography. As regular Nigerians fell in love with Atiku, Bola’s admin grew bitter at him, while Peter and his cohorts were notably envious of him Understandably, Bola’s camp felt unhappy that Atiku pulled the rug off their feet and have unsuccessfully thrown spanners at the wheel of Atiku’s subsidy plan. On this issue, @PeterObi and his people have been in disarray, incoherent on one hand and envious at Atiku’s plan on another, while still being unable to clearly articulate their own plans Overall, there has been lack of clarity in Peter’s position on subsidy. In short, his position on this matter has been everywhere, contradictory and lacks clarity of purpose At an NBA conference in Port Harcourt, Peter vehemently and unambiguously opposed the reinstatement of petrol subsidy. But as the Atiku petrol subsidy plan gained more momentum, Peter dubiously attempted to attach himself to the this plan in an interview with Arise by lying that himself and Atiku are saying the same thing. Upon further interrogation on the same topic, Peter retorted with an illogical statement that bringing back subsidy is not the issue, but bringing petrol price down by killing subsidy ‘corruption’ in a non-existent subsidy regime, leaving everyone scratching their heads in confusion at such absurdity The circus continued when his running mate further contradicted him in a separate interview saying they will bring back subsidy in their own way. Their merry-go-round on this subject matter finally completed a full cycle in a recent town-hall meeting in Sokoto, with Peter finally conceding to ‘bring back subsidy’, but without any precise plan of bringing back subsidy In closing, the scattershot approach of Peter on this subject further demystified him as increasingly unfit and without depth for the office he seeks. Despite this, Peter’s antics so far is very suggestive of an illusion of Atiku stealing the shine from him on this critcal subject area. Therefore, Peter will do anything to reclaim what was never his, even if it meant dribbling like Diego Maradona at the cost of his waning credibility before Nigerians