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Audio call featuring me and Oyedepo is fake, says Obi

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Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says the audio call featuring him and David Oyedepo, the founder of Winners Chapel, is fake.

Obi in a post on Wednesday on his official Twitter handle said “at no time did he ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war”.

The LP candidate said his legal team would take appropriate legal action on the matter.

“I continue to thank all Nigerians, especially the youths and the Obidients, as they have remained focused on the core mission of a New Nigeria that is POssible even after the February 25, 2023 presidential election,” Obi said.

“I repeatedly stated that no one should vote for me based on Tribe or Religion, but rather on the assessment of Character, Competence, Capacity, Credibility, and Compassion that can be trusted to create a New Nigeria!

“The present attempts by the APC as a Party, and the APC Led-government through some government officials and agencies to divert our attention from our blatantly stolen mandate is unfortunate and sad.

“These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and a pressure on me to leave the country.

“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake, and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.

“The attempts to manipulate Nigerians is very sad and wicked. Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.

“Elections are over, and we are in court to retrieve our stolen mandate. Let me reiterate that we are doing so through all lawful and peaceful options in line with our legal system and constitution, and I continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding.

Those fixated with heating up the polity, creating divisions, tensions and hatred within and outside Nigeria should remember that Nigeria is our only country. Our focus should be on how to address the litany of challenges facing us, such as: flawed electoral processes, the parlous state of our economy, unsustainable debt burden, lamentable unemployment and inflation, insecurity, and multi-dimensional poverty. A New Nigeria is indeed POssible, and God will help us.”

BACKGROUND

In the audio clip, a voice similar to that of Obi can be heard asking Oyedepo to speak to the Christians in the south-west and Kwara to vote for him in the presidential poll, describing the election as a “religious war”.

There have been conflicting statements regarding the authenticity of the tape from the LP.

The LP campaign council said the audio was a deep fake and accused the APC of trying to demarket Obi.

The council said it was a plot to create a credibility problem for its candidate and had no other purpose than mischief.

Valentine Obienyem, Obi’s media aide, also said the leaked audio of his principal’s conversation with Oyedepo was edited out of context.

Kenneth Okonkwo, a spokesperson of the LP campaign, however, said the clip was authentic.

Okonkwo said “political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if the LP candidate was making a religious comment” instead of seeing that “Obi was simply urging the Bishop to help him push this message of equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project to his people and the Christendom because the politicians of the other party are carrying on this campaign as if it is a religious war”.

Before Obi’s reaction on Wednesday, Oyedepo said he has never and will not campaign for any political candidate.

The cleric neither confirmed nor denied that the conversation took place.

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FCCPC seals warehouse with mislabelled, expired products in Ekiti

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The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says a warehouse selling harmful products in Ekiti state was raided and sealed on Wednesday.

In a post on X, FCCPC said the raid was carried out after receiving intelligence reports that there were unsafe and expired products in the warehouse located in Ado-Ekiti.

After confirming the reports, FCCPC said the place was sealed.

“Following intelligence reports, our operatives raided a warehouse suspected of selling harmful products, including vegetable oils, cereals and other fast-moving consumer goods,” the commission said.

“During the raid, the FCCPC found evidence of expired goods still on the shelves, deceptive labels on products, fake barcodes, and repackaged, potentially unsafe products.

“The warehouse is now sealed, and the owners along with a supplier are being investigated. Appropriate enforcement actions will follow.”

The commission said it would remain vigilant in protecting consumers and ensuring a fair marketplace in Nigeria.

On April 18, FCCPC raided two 4U Signature supermarkets in the Wuse area of Abuja.

The supermarkets were accused of overcharging customers by implementing prices different from those listed on the shelf tags.

Four days after the supermarket was sealed, FCCPC summoned the owners of Royal Choice, a Chinese supermarket in Abuja, for allegedly refusing to sell to Nigerians.

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Sanwo-Olu’s deputy chief of staff, Gboyega Soyannwo dies at 55

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Gboyega Soyannwo, deputy chief of staff to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, is dead.

Soyannwo died on Wednesday after a brief illness, at the age of 55.

In a statement, Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information and strategy in Lagos, said Sanwo-Olu commiserated with the family of the late deputy chief of staff.

The Lagos governor said he had lost a “brother and a servant of the people”.

“With deep sorrow, the Lagos State Government announces the passing of the deputy chief of staff (DCoS) to Mr Governor, Mr Gboyega Soyannwo,” the statement reads.

“Mr. Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on behalf of the government and people of Lagos, sends his condolences to the Soyannwo family.“

Soyannwo was appointed as the deputy chief of staff to Sanwo-Olu in 2019. He was reappointed in 2023.

He was born on October 3, 1968.

He had his primary education at the Corona School Victoria Island, Lagos, from 1974 to 1980 and proceeded to Kings College for his secondary education from 1980 to 1985.

He obtained a B.Sc. in economics from the University of Lagos.

He started his career at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1992 as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He also worked in some financial institutions in Nigeria before joining the public service.

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Faulty aircraft: Tinubu should travel by road or use commercial flight, says rep

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Ali Isa, a member of the house of representatives, says President Bola Tinubu should travel by road or use commercial flights for official engagements.

Isa, the minority whip and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing the Balanga/Billiri federal constituency of Gombe, spoke on the floor of the green chamber on Wednesday.

Isa was contributing to a motion sponsored by Satomi Ahmed, chairman of the house committee on national security and intelligence, on the need to probe the status of the presidential fleet.

Recently, Tinubu reportedly used a chartered aircraft from the Netherlands to Saudi Arabia after the presidential jet developed a fault.

Early this month, Vice-President Kashim Shettima also cancelled his trip to the United States due to a fault developed by the presidential jet.

Shettima was to represent Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa business summit.

‘TINUBU SHOULD TRAVEL BY ROAD’

Isa said the president and the vice-president can travel by road or fly commercial airlines when they are going on official engagements.

“Mr Speaker, since an issue has been raised, I would advise that the president should suspend using the presidential aircraft; if there is a need he can use either commercial or chartered aircraft,” the lawmaker said.

“And another option that will also help Nigerians is if the president can travel by road. Nigerians will have hope that our roads will be repaired.”

Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker who presided over the plenary, said the president should not travel by road.

“Are you saying, Mr president, the number one leader should travel around by road?” Kalu asked.

But Kingsley Chinda, the minority leader, corroborated Isa’s position that the president can use commercial aircraft.

“I have not seen anything wrong with a public office holder using public aircraft. The prime minister of the UK uses British Airways. It is commercial,” Chinda said.

“We should be thinking of how to resuscitate the Nigerian Airway.

“British Airways is not a British Air Force; it is a British private company. If we have planes in the presidential fleet, they should be maintained, and the president and vice president can use them.

“If for any reason we have failed to maintain them, it is not for it to be discussed on the floor of the house.”

However, Sada Soli, a member from Katsina countered Chinda, saying that the UK prime minister uses a special British Airways plane.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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