Nigerians have right to choose their leaders, says Boris Johnson

Additionally, he called on Nigerian politicians to ensure that millions of citizens realize their potential, citing equal rights and access to education as two important prerequisites.

The 16th annual Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe lecture, with the theme “Rehumanising Human Experience: A Synopsis of Anyiam-Treatises,” Osigwe’s featured Johnson as the keynote speaker.

While many Nigerians have not yet realized their full potential, he noted that politicians must foster environments that allow people to do so, “because not only is it morally right, it is certainly right if we care about human development and giving everyone the chance to express their potential.”

According to the British parliamentarian, if people were treated equally before the law, they would realize their full potential. He added that equality before the law is what made Britain what it is today.

“First and foremost, you need equality before the law because that is the basis of freedom,” he said. In Britain, you will be subjected to the same scrutiny and protection regardless of your wealth.

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“The ability to pick your own representatives and to remove them from office is the next great freedom. Democracy is what it’s known as he added.

Insisting on the need for an accepting society where diversity is valued, he claimed that this was what made London a talent hotbed.

Johnson, who argued for closer ties between Nigeria and Britain, claimed that doing so would enable both nations to realize their full potential.

“The time is now,” he declared. Now is the time for Britain and Nigeria, two great democracies, to cooperate in an uncertain world where some countries are detaching from one another. Nigeria can produce both oil and gas and be a superpower in the field of renewable energy. We could work together more frequently.

He suggests further cooperation in the areas of free trade, free speech, and free elections.

He added that “urban successes are built on freedom under the law,” stating that “you need an open, tolerant society to develop human potentials.”

According to Johnson, Lagos is to Africa what London is to Britain. However, he urged the Lagos State Government to enhance its transportation network, noting that being stuck in traffic for a long time can be extremely frustrating.

He suggested that the state government study the mass transit system in Britain rather than traveling to “China or Russia.”

He cites Lagos, London, and Los Angeles as the three states with the strongest creative industries. He honored Peace Maria Anyiam-Osigwe, the late CEO of the Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA), for her contributions to the growth of the creative sector in Africa.

Charles Anyiam-Osigwe welcomed dignitaries to the lecture and described it as “an adventure within the bounds of the submission of Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe on how we can vastly realise a better world order.” He holds various views on man as the main driving force of sentient existence in this construct. He claims that “man is the center of the universe” in his fragments. In light of this, he assesses how important humans are as the engine that propels sentient existence and its social structure.

“Man has lost touch with the qualities and definitions that define him as a human being, which is why poverty exists and social unrest characterizes the current world order. The human person loses the insight that comes with his intuitive prowess beyond the ordinary when his mental identity and esoteric being become disconnected.

President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the former deputy governor of Lagos State Otunba Femi Pedro, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, who was represented by his deputy Obafemi Hamzat, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi were among the dignitaries present at the event.

Pedro claimed that Tinubu is already gearing up to lead Nigeria to new heights. He urged attendees and dignitaries who attended to relax, knowing that Nigeria is in capable hands. Nigeria is traveling far, and Tinubu is the pilot, said Pedro.

Anyaoku spoke highly of Mr. Johnson’s accomplishments, particularly how he prioritized the needs of the populace.

He described Mr. Johnson as a remarkable British leader and politician.

“He has thus far left political legacies in contemporary Britain. Since he was the Prime Minister and followed the majority of British citizens’ decisions, it was he who (in colloquial terms) “got Brexit done.”

He declared, “I think if we were to effectively pursue the theme of this lecture, comprehensive welfare of the people should be the bedrock of policies and actions of politicians and actions throughout the world.

He urged Nigerians to uphold their nation’s honor and refrain from demeaning or misrepresenting it.

A High Court sitting in Makurdi, Benue State, yesterday barred Dr. Iyorchia Ayu from posing as the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), further exacerbating the crisis that has gripped the party.

This came after a PDP chieftain, Comrade Terhide Utaan, filed an ex-parte application seeking an interim injunction barring Ayu from continuing to pose as the party’s national chairman.

Senator Iyorchia Ayu, Comrade Utaan, and the PDP were respondents in the lawsuit MHC/85/ 2023 and motion MHC/633M/2023 before Justice W. I. Kpochi. The plaintiff requested an order of interim injunction preventing the first defendant, Dr. Ayu, from further misrepresenting himself as the national chairman of the PDP while the motion on notice already filed was being heard and decided.

Three exhibits, labeled A1, A2, and B, were annexed to a 15-paragraph affidavit that served as support for the application.

The applicant’s membership cards for the second defendant (PDP), payment receipts for dues, and the vote of no confidence for the first defendant (Ayu) from his Igyorov council ward in the Gboko local government are the exhibits.

The case was postponed until April 14, 2023, by Justice Kpochi.

Following Ayu’s weekend suspension by his ward for allegedly engaging in anti-party activities, the court issued the order.

Ayu, however, declared his suspension to be void and asserted that only the National Executive Committee (NEC) had the authority to enact such a measure.

Ayu asserted that some of the party’s executive committee members in his ward were teleguided by what he called Makurdi’s political gamblers to cause trouble.

Article 57(7) of the PDP Constitution, as amended in 2017, expressly forbids any organ of the party or executive committee of the party at the Ward or State level from taking any disciplinary action against any member of the party’s National Executive Committee, according to a statement made by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Simon Imobo-Tswam.

The PDP Executive Committee of Igyorov Council Ward of Gboko Local Government Area in Benue State has passed a vote of no confidence on the PDP National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, and suspended him from the party, according to a resolution passed at the conclusion of the meeting of party executives at the Ward level and read by its Secretary of Igyorov, Mr. Banger Dooyum.

“He (Ayu) was involved in anti-party activities, making the PDP lose at his ward and local government along with his allies, who also didn’t vote at the governorship election,” Mr. Dooyum stated while reading the ward Exco’s resolution.

Ayu was also charged with violating the party constitution by failing to pay his yearly dues.

Chief Olabode George, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, expressed concern over the situation and pleaded with the feuding factions to refrain from taking any actions that would endanger the party.

He asserts that Ayu made mistakes by failing to resign as party president when a northerner emerged as the front-runner, which led to the party’s defeat in the election.

But he issued a warning, urging party members to use the post-election period for reconciliation rather than to destroy the party for good.

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He urged party members in Ayu’s ward to follow due process, asserting that only the NEC has the authority to suspend or punish Ayu or any other national leader of the party.

Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, responded by saying that the battle against Ayu has just begun.

The governor declared that it is now unthinkable to give the party’s leadership to anyone who was unable to carry their political unit, ward, council, or state for the PDP during the most recent general elections.

Wike made this statement yesterday at the opening of the renovated Community Secondary School in Okoro-nu-Odo, in the state’s Obio-Akpor Council.

The catastrophic defeat of the PDP under Ayu’s leadership in his unit, ward, local government, state, and federal levels, according to the governor, makes it morally offensive for him to continue serving as the party’s national chairman.

He claims that Ayu’s suspension marks the start of the battle to keep the party together.