\u2026 Enemies of Democracy were afraid of the massive \u2018OBIdients\u2019 movement across the nation, scuttled my presidential ambition<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
*\u2018The matter is still being investigated by the United Kingdom authorities, I am extremely careful in all my activities, waiting anxiously for the outcome\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n *\u201cPeter Obi did not attend TINUBU\u2019S inauguration at Eagle Square, even though an invitation was sent to him. It would have been strange for him to attend a ceremony honouring a leader whose election triumph he is contesting in court\u201d<\/b><\/span>-Aide, Tai Obasi<\/b><\/p>\n *BY NWAKANMA AMAECHI\/<\/b>SPECIAL POLITICAL & CRIME Correspondent, Lagos <\/i><\/b>& GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU\/<\/b>AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n IN A SHOCKING REVELATION, PETER OBI, the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election has confirmed that his alleged earlier \u2018detain\u2019 for identity theft in London was initiated, politically planned in Nigeria to scuttle his rising political ambition for becoming Nigeria\u2019s president going by the fears generated from the massive presence of \u2018OBIdients\u2019 across the country.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Obi, however, added that the matter was still being investigated by United Kingdom (U.K) authorities.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Making this revelation on Sunday while speaking as a guest on a Parallel Facts Media Twitter Space programme, he said: \u201cI have been to the UK since then and they too are investigating because when I arrived, I asked them and they said they were looking into it,\u201d Obi said.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all I can say for now. I am also extremely careful. I\u2019m managing it and I am hoping nothing goes wrong. But it all started from here; that\u2019s all I can tell you. It\u2019s something that started from Nigeria.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n A source in Obi\u2019s camp who is not authorised to speak to the press confided in one of our correspondents that the Nigeria\u2019s state apparatus were afraid of the rising profile of the former Anambra State governor, \u201ctruth is, everyone in the All Progressives Congress, APC, were afraid of the massive OBIdients\u2019 movement presence across the country and the rising political profile of Obi. As such, the Nigerian State under Muhammadu Buhari leadership hatched a scandalous plan to throw a wrench or stoppage at the OBIdients\u2019 movement by causing a huge crisis outside the shores of the nation to slow him down and bring him into opprobrium in the eyes of the international community and a larger section of Nigerians as a man unfit for office. That was how the identity double was hatched\u201d.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n In April, Obi was reportedly delayed and questioned by some immigration officials in London over a case of identity theft.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Obi was said to have been detained for hours after his British Airways plane landed at Heathrow Airport.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n According to one of his former aides, Prof Chinyere Okunna, Obi narrated the ordeal to her in private and expressed pain about his ordeal, which was meant to hound and chase him out of Nigeria.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>Okunna said, \u201cToday, 11\/04\/2023, I was shocked beyond words to hear from His Excellency Mr Peter what he went through when his British Airways plane landed at Heathrow Airport London in the early morning of Friday 07\/04\/2023.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cHe was talking to me at the Official Opening of the Specialist Hospital of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Sisters, Nkpor. He had arrived at the event after flying in from London, his presence heralded by the usual ‘ear-splitting’ ovation that accompanies him everywhere nowadays. As the “Most Outstanding Pillar of the Foundation\/Hospital”, the Reverend Sisters were full of expectations that he would attend; so were we (Members of the Governing Board of the IHM Sisters Healthcare System), although there was also anxiety about whether he would be able to make it, being outside Nigeria.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cI suppose he told me all this confidentially. My very sincere apologies, Your Excellency, for \u2018breaking\u2019 this confidentiality, but History beckons and I CANNOT KEEP QUIET.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe arrived at Heathrow Airport and joined the usual queue to pass through Immigration, and that was when his ordeal began.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cHe was stopped and questioned for a long time and subsequently handed a detention note and told to wait for further interrogation and investigation. This was terribly unusual for a man who had lived honourably in the UK for a long time.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cIn the face of this harassment, some well-meaning Nigerians, knowing who he is, raised their voices in protest, demanding to know why he was being treated that way.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>Okunna revealed that in the face of seeming protest by some Nigerians, the immigration officials revealed that someone was impersonating Obi in the country.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cThe shocking revelation by the Immigration Officer was that his (Obi\u2019s) identity \u2018was duplicated\u2019. This revelation has definitely set off alarm bells.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cFor people who are knowledgeable about such matters, this is a very dangerous development because the implication is that someone is impersonating Peter Obi.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd that someone could implicate Obi in all manner of dubious and even criminal activities, and rope him into any number of offences; he could get Obi framed for one criminal act or another. The frightening scenario of what can happen is unimaginable.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n However, Femi Fani-Kayode, the former Director, New Media sub-committee of the APC presidential campaign council, had said Obi could not be trusted unless he explained what led to his detention by British immigration officers at Heathrow Airport.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n He said Obi must clarify if he violated British laws, either knowingly or unknowingly.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Fani Kayode stated, \u201cUntil Peter Obi tells us what happened to him at Heathrow Airport and why he was accosted and detained by British immigration officials over Easter, he cannot be trusted or taken seriously.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b>\u201cPeter Obi\u2019s claim that he never \u2018knowingly\u2019 broke the law speaks volumes and suggests that he broke it \u2018unknowingly.\u2019\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n *Why PETER OBI did not attend TINUBU\u2019S swearing-in ceremony:\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n OBI has said he and his team are not planning to stage a protest against the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as the incoming president of Nigeria.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Obi\u2019s aide, Tai Obasi, denied reports that there were plans to protest against Tinubu\u2019s inauguration, according to The PUNCH. Obasi, however, added that his principal will not attend the inauguration even though an invitation was sent to him.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Obi’s remark comes amid rumours that the former Anambra governor and OBIdients (his supporters) will protest near Eagle Square over the government’s plan to go ahead with Tinubu\u2019s inauguration despite petitions at the election petition tribunal.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Obasi was quoted by PUNCH saying, \u201cI don\u2019t know where that report is coming from. We don\u2019t know anything about it or who are behind the proposed protest. But I can categorically tell you that my principal is not aware of anything.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe is Obi and his followers are OBIdient. I agree that on some occasions, they may act on their own, no matter how you tell them to keep calm. These guys are angry. They are not happy about how everything was manipulated against Obi who has given them so much hope. They followed him and waited for him all the way.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n “My principal is a very humble and reasonable man who is always looking for peace and unity of the country at all costs,” Obi’s aide said when asked if his principal will attend Tinubu’s inauguration following reports that political parties and their presidential candidates were sent individual invitations.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut it will be strange for him to attend a ceremony honouring a leader whose election triumph he is contesting in court.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0He continued: \u201cMy principal cannot act that weird and unreasonable. I can\u2019t confirm if he received an invitation to the swearing-in ceremony. But I am telling you that you can\u2019t see him there.\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Tinubu of the APC was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission in March.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Due to this, Obi approached the court to seek the nullification of Tinubu\u2019s victory, alleging that the election that produced him was marred with a lot of irregularities.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0When asked to provide the evidence he had to prove that the election was fraudulent, Obi said he would prove to Nigerians in court that the election was rigged.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n CERTAINLY, Good journalism costs a lot of money. Without doubt, only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government. We are ready to hold every corrupt government accountable to the citizens.<\/b> To continually enjoy free access to the best investigative journalism in Nigeria, we are requesting of you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavor.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n By contributing to NAIJA STANDARD NEWSPAPER, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all without fear or favor.<\/b><\/p>\n Your donation is voluntary \u2014 please decide how much and how often you want to give. For offline donation, email: letters@nigeriastandardnewspaper.com or call +2348037128048 (Nigeria) or +16825834890 (United States of America)<\/b><\/p>\n [pff-paystack id=<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" IDENTITY THEFT ORDEAL: My Set-up was politically plotted, planned in Nigeria to be Detained at London Airport–Peter OBI opens up \u2026 Enemies of Democracy were afraid of the massive \u2018OBIdients\u2019 movement across the nation, scuttled my presidential ambition *\u2018The matter is still being investigated by the United Kingdom authorities, I am extremely careful in all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9461"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11845,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9461\/revisions\/11845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/OBI-now.jpeg\")
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