The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has confirmed the completion of his Independent National Electoral Commission nomination form.
Obi’s confirmation comes on the heels of statements by the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, who announced that Obi’s name had been successfully uploaded to the electoral commission’s portal despite a recent Federal High Court ruling in Lokoja that sought to deregister the party over a logo dispute with the Peace Movement Party.
Dickson assured supporters that the party has already filed an appeal and a stay of execution to protect its status ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement on Tuesday, Obi commenting on the requirements of the electoral document, questioned whether the current political class is demonstrating the right mindset to tackle Nigeria’s pressing crises.
The former governor argued that widespread insecurity, mass hunger, and the frivolous siphoning of billions through non-existent agencies should be treated as national emergencies rather than being overshadowed by political maneuvering. He stressed that a sound-minded leadership would immediately mobilize all relevant institutions and stakeholders to confront these existential challenges with absolute urgency.
Obi challenged the electoral body to make the academic credentials of all political aspirants public to foster trust. He argued that since the nomination form asks candidates if they have ever presented forged certificates, full disclosure is the logical next step to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy.
Obi maintained that the country’s severe problems require an urgent shift away from politics as usual toward leadership defined by character and competence.
“Transparency strengthens democracy and builds public trust,” Obi stated in his address to the public. Expressing his concerns over the questions asked in the official documents, he added, “Why shouldn’t INEC, in the interest of ensuring that our leaders are exemplary in following the rules and to strengthen public confidence in our electoral process, publish the academic certificates and credentials submitted by every candidate seeking elective office?”
The full statement reads:
What Truly Should Be Our Priority Now as Leaders of a Nation?
This question has become necessary, given where we are today as a nation and where we are supposed to be.
While completing my INEC nomination form yesterday, Section E, Question 1 caught my attention. It asks: “Have you ever been adjudged a lunatic or been declared a person of unsound mind?” The answer is either Yes or No. That question got me thinking: Can we, as the political leaders of today’s Nigeria, truly say we are exhibiting the characteristics of a sound mind?
When Nigerians, including children and security personnel, are being abducted into the bushes, citizens cannot travel safely on our highways, several million Nigerians are uncertain where their next meal will come from, and several billions are being siphoned frivolously through non-existent agencies and projects, should politics really be our primary preoccupation?
A sound-minded leadership would have declared these existential challenges a national emergency and immediately mobilised all relevant institutions, security agencies, experts, community leaders, and other critical stakeholders to confront them with urgency and resolve. At a moment like this, the survival, security, and stability of Nigeria must take precedence over every other consideration. This is a time for decisive action, not political calculation or the pursuit of partisan advantage.
Further in the same Section E, Question 6, was: “Have you ever presented a forged certificate to INEC?” Again, the answer is either Yes or No. This raises another important question: Why shouldn’t INEC, in the interest of ensuring that our leaders are exemplary in following the rules and to strengthen public confidence in our electoral process, publish the academic certificates and credentials submitted by every candidate seeking elective office?
Transparency strengthens democracy and builds public trust. Nigeria’s problems are too serious for politics as usual. It is time for leadership defined by competence, character, capacity, compassion, and commitment to service.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
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(The hidden truth)
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