Peter Obi’s ‘Religious War’ Phone Call With Oyedepo, 3 Other Political Scandals in Nigeria in 2023
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9-year-experience covering elections and politics in Nigeria
FCT, Abuja - Year 2023 has been on the horns of a dilemma for many some politicians. As usual, some career politicians and former government officials made the headlines no thanks to scandals.
Legit.ng compiles some of the most controversial incidents.
Source: Facebook
1) Obi’s ‘religious war’ phone call with Oyedepo
On Saturday, April 1, a telephone conversation between Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, was leaked to the public by People’s Gazette.
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In the audio clip, Obi asked Oyedepo to help spread his message to Christians in the south-west and parts of north-central. Addressing him as “daddy”, the LP’s chieftain told Oyedepo that the just concluded presidential election was a “religious war.”
Obi’s critics have accused him of playing a politics of ethnicity and religion ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, which he lost but has challenged in court. He denies this, asking critics to provide evidence. The leaked file appears to have substantiated the position of the critics.
However, Obi said the audio call is fake.
2) Murder allegation against Kelechi Nwali
In April, the Ebonyi state police command, said it has arrested four persons in connection with the gruesome murder of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Peter Nweke, in the state.
Nweke was tortured to death by hoodlums suspected to be loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, on March 18, 2023, the day the governorship and house of assembly elections, took place.
The deceased, PDP Ward Chairman, was killed at Umuezeokaoha community, in the Ezza North local government area (LGA) of the state, while working as the party’s agent for the governorship poll in the area.
The police said during the interrogation of the suspects, the first suspect, Leonard Kelechi Nwali, a Labour Party (LP) house of assembly aspirant, Ezza North constituency, confessed to hiring the assailants who were meant to torture the late Peter Nweke. However, he (Nweke) died in the process.
3) Ladi Adebutu: N2billion vote-buying scheme
In May, Premium Times reported that a top Nigerian politician, Ladi Adebutu, who said that he had fled Nigeria over threats to his life was indicted by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for money laundering and vote-buying during the last general elections.
The police said Adebutu, the governorship candidate of the PDPin Ogun state, deployed two billion naira to induce voters across the state to vote for him and his party during the 18 March election.
However, reacting to the allegation, Adebutu said neither him nor his party was involved in voter inducement at the election.
4) Alison-Madueke's corruption case
A former Nigerian minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, was in August charged with bribery offences following a National Crime Agency investigation.
Alison-Madueke, aged 63, who also served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was a key figure in the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2015.
Alison-Madueke was accused of collecting bribes during her time as minister for petroleum resources, in exchange for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts.
She is alleged to have benefitted from at least £100,000 in cash, chauffeur driven cars, flights on private jets, luxury holidays for her family, and the use of multiple London properties.
In October, she appeared in a London court over the charges.
Legit.ng reports that Alison-Madueke has been dogged by corruption allegations since leaving office in 2015, which she denies.
Political events that shaped Nigeria in 2023
Earlier, Legit.ng spotlighted the political events that shaped Nigeria in 2023.
The article delved into the multifaceted tapestry of Nigerian politics in 2023, exploring the significance of each key event and unravelling the implications they hold for the nation's future.
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Source: Legit.ng
