Dr. Doyin Okupe, the director general of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization, has responded to rumours that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), struck an agreement. The denial came from Okupe, who called the allegations against Obi “fallacious lies” in a statement.
Okupe emphasised that Obi has no motive to enter into an agreement with Atiku or any other contender because he is more highly regarded and accepted by Nigerians both at home and abroad than any of them.
Therefore, he advised Nigerians to disregard the stories, emphasising that they were propaganda stunts intended to divert attention from the Obi-Datti movement.
Okupe reassured that the Obi-Datti movement is still committed to helping Nigerians recapture their country.
“I thus unequivocally dispute the erroneous notion that is going around that Peter Obi has made any agreements with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, with regard to the 2023 presidential elections,” the statement stated.
Obi is far ahead of all other presidential contenders in the nation thanks to God’s blessing and the widespread acceptance and support of Nigerians at home and abroad, especially young people.
“He, therefore, cannot logically be negotiating with any other less popular candidates or their parties.
“Members of the public are hereby advised to ignore this cheap, self-serving and distracting propaganda, which we also believe is not coming from the Atiku camp.
“The train of the OBIdient movement gathers more and more electorate on an hourly basis, while it is evident that the political fortunes and followership of the other parties diminish and recede like a drying lake in the scorching heat of an arid desert.
“The Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation is focused on our mission which is to take back Nigeria and hand it over to the Nigerian youths, to secure their collective destiny.
“Our compelling commitment and promise is to move Nigeria from consumption to production and so help us God”.
Obi Requests End to ASUU Strike To ensure that Nigerian students can complete their academic programmes, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), has urged the Federal Government to engage in cooperative negotiations with the striking varsity teachers in good faith.
In a statement posted on his verified Twitter account on Wednesday, Obi criticised the government for allowing a labour dispute of this magnitude to spiral out of control to the detriment of pupils.
He called on the administration to end its conflict with the Academic Staff Union of Universities while noting how long the strike had continued (ASUU). ASUU announced on Monday that it would continue its six-month strike indefinitely due to the government’s refusal to grant its demands.
Since February 14, 2022, ASUU has been on strike, calling for the release of funds for university revitalization, the implementation of the University Transparency Accountability System (UTAS) for the payment of university lecturers’ salaries and benefits, the release of earned allowances, the release of the white paper report of the visitation panels to universities, as well as other issues relating to the ASUUFGN 2009 agreement.
Other university-based unions, such as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and other affiliated educational institutions soon joined the strike to further their goals.
The government had formed a negotiating team to look into talks with the unions in an effort to put a stop to the strike, and Nimi Briggs, the pro-chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja, was leading that team.
Although SSANU, NASU, and NAAT have called off their strikes, the government and ASUU’s talks have stagnated over unpaid wages.
While ASUU pushed for the payment of members’ unpaid wages, the Federal Government insisted on its “No Work, No Pay” policy.
