By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

A 2027 Presidential hopeful and former Labour Party presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a statement titled “PVC is the bridge to a New Nigeria”released on Monday, Obi emphasized that the PVC is a key tool for ensuring credible elections and preventing electoral fraud.

He described the PVC as “the voice of the voiceless, the shield of the weak, and the weapon of the poor for a better life, against injustice and bad leadership.

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“Today, I want to plead with every Nigerian, young and old to heed this call to action.

The future of our dear nation is in your hands. The greatest strength of democracy is in the voter’s card,” he said. Newspaper subscription bundles

Obi also warned Nigerians against selling their votes to politicians, stressing that vote-buying contributes to corruption and mismanagement of public resources.

“Let us know this: those who buy votes are not offering you charity; they only invest in their own corruption. They buy votes so that they can buy their way into our treasury to steal public money. 

“When they get into that office, they will loot the funds that should have been used to build schools, hospitals or provide good jobs. 

“Such people are not leaders, they are criminals in disguise. They are no better than killers, armed robbers, and kidnappers, because they commit the same crime of destruction,” Obi stated.

He further cautioned voters against mortgaging their future by selling votes, noting, “To those who sell their votes, you are not just selling an election, you are selling the very opportunities that would have lifted you and your family out of poverty. 

“You are selling the schools that your children should have attended, the hospitals that should save your loved ones and the jobs that would have given you dignity and a better life.”

Obi called on Nigerians to safeguard their PVCs and use them responsibly. 

“Our democracy is at stake. That is why I urge every eligible Nigerian to register, collect, and safeguard your PVC, and when the time comes, use it wisely. 

“Vote for leaders of competence, character, capacity, and compassion. Leaders who will put you first. 

“Do not be intimidated, do not be deceived, and do not be bought,” he said.

He reminded Nigerians that power resides with the electorate, not politicians seeking personal gain. “Prove that power belongs to the people, not corrupt politicians, who trade our future for their selfish gain,” Obi added.

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Activist Aisha Yesufu has criticized World Trade Organization Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, over her remarks commending President Bola Tinubu for stabilizing Nigeria’s economy.

In a post on X on Sunday, Yesufu questioned why Nigerians should give Tinubu credit for stabilising what she described as an economy he had destabilized.

She argued that the economy has yet to return to the level it was before Tinubu assumed office, adding that the claim of stability would only make sense if the president had inherited a worse situation.

Yesufu said Nigerians were being asked to commend Tinubu for “stabilising his own mess,” insisting the country’s economic state remains far from recovery.

She said: “First of all, she started by telling Nigerians that they should give Mr. Tinubu credit for stabilising an economy he destabilised and has not even taken to the bad state it was in before he came in.

“Give credit to someone that threw the economy into an unprecedented bad state because he was now stabilising his mess? What is the stability being compared to?

“If Mr Tinubu had met the economy worse off and there was now stability, then her statement would make sense. The economy is still not back to where it was when he snatched power from Buhari. Is it? So what credit are Nigerians supposed to give?”

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano has rejected the outcome of the Tsanyawa/Ghari State Assembly re-run election, insisting that the poll was rigged.

The party said it will go to court to challenge the declaration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate as the winner.

Announcing the decision, Kano State Chairman of the NNPP, Hashimu Suleiman Dungurawa, said, “The leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State has acknowledged the tremendous achievements recorded by the party in Kano on the re-run and by-elections at Tsanyawa/ Ghari and Shanono/Bagwai state constituencies, respectively.

“While applauding the voters of the respective constituencies, the party wishes to inform the general public that the manipulations orchestrated against the candidate in Tsanyawa/Ghari re-run election cannot be condoned.

“Therefore, the party rejected the election results of Tsanyawa/Ghari, which was declared at the INEC Headquarters in Kano, while cancelling entirely the 10 polling units that the Appeal Court nullified and ordered for a fresh election.”

Dungurawa alleged that voters were denied the right to vote after they came out massively and casted their votes for the NNPP candidate.

“People are aware that in Ghari Local Government Area the election was conducted peacefully in the 10 polling units but some unpatriotic politicians connived with INEC officials and forced the declaration of the APC candidate as the winner.

“In ideal circumstances elections are supposed to be declared at the collation centre within the constituency, but INEC decided to make the declaration at its headquarters in the state capital, which gave room for unpatriotic politicians to connive with INEC and cancel all the polling units in contention and revert back to the old election results that was challenged at the court and the court decided in favour of the NNPP, ordering that re-run election should be conducted and hence ordering INEC to conduct re-run election in the 10 polling units.

“NNPP as a party will continue to fight injustice, favoritism, election manipulation and against anybody who feels he can use the federal might to disenfranchise the good people of Kano State,” he said.

“It is very important to know that all presiding officers at the Tsanyawa/Ghari polling units have already signed their election results at their respective collation centers, and only the presiding officers have the power to cancel elections – not at the INEC Headquarters.

“Furthermore, credible election was held in the Shanono/Bagwai by-election and if not because the Shanono/Bagwai results were declared at collation centers, APC might have attempted to change the narratives.

“Therefore, we appreciate the role of the constituents and other stakeholders, particularly the security agencies who provided enabling environment for very peaceful re-run and by-elections,” Dungurawa added.