🇳🇬 JUST IN - Peter Obi: How Can Nigeria Jail Party Defectors But Ignore Certificate Forgers?
~ Peter Obi Raises Alarm Over Electoral Law Changes, Questions Nigeria’s Democratic Priorities
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticized what he describes as a troubling contradiction within Nigeria’s political and electoral system.
In a statement on Friday, Obi questioned the direction of the country’s democratic values, asking what kind of nation leaders are preparing for future generations.
According to him, lawmakers who are proposing a ₦10 million fine and up to two years imprisonment for dual political party membership have simultaneously removed certificate forgery, age falsification, and false declarations as grounds for challenging election results at tribunals.
Obi said the move directly contradicts provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), warning that it raises serious concerns about the priorities of Nigeria’s political system.
The former Anambra State governor argued that in any functioning democracy, deceiving the public to gain power should rank among the gravest political offenses.
He stressed that submitting false documents, forging certificates, falsifying age, or making dishonest declarations to electoral authorities should automatically disqualify candidates and attract criminal prosecution.
Obi expressed concern that the current trajectory of Nigeria’s electoral system appears more focused on protecting political structures than defending truth and accountability.
“There is no justification for prioritizing punishment for party alignment over punishing false certificates, forgery, and other forms of deception in the pursuit of public office,” he stated.
He added that laws in a democracy should strengthen institutions and promote ethical leadership rather than lower the standards for those seeking public office.
Obi concluded by warning that a nation cannot rise above the integrity of its leaders, insisting that Nigeria must defend truth, character, competence, and accountability if it hopes to achieve meaningful progress.
Nigeria is facing a troubling contradiction.
What type of country are we trying to bequeath for our children?
The same lawmakers who have proposed a fine of ₦10 million and up to two years in prison for dual political party membership have simultaneously removed certificate forgery, age falsification, and false declarations as grounds for challenging an election in a tribunal. This is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the Constitution of Nigeria (1999, as amended).
This situation raises a fundamental question about the priorities of our political system.
In any serious democracy, the gravest offense in public life is deceiving the people to gain power. Submitting false documents, falsifying one’s age, forging certificates, and making dishonest declarations to electoral authorities are among the most serious offenses in any democracy. Such actions not only lead to automatic disqualification but also warrant criminal prosecution.
Yet today, our electoral system seems more focused on protecting political structures than on upholding the truth.
There is no justification for prioritizing punishment for party alignment over punishing false certificates, forgery, and other forms of deception in the pursuit of public office.
Laws should strengthen democracy, not weaken it. They should promote ethical leadership rather than lower standards for those who aspire to govern.
A nation cannot rise above the integrity of its leaders. If we truly want a better Nigeria, our laws must defend truth, character, competence, and accountability. We cannot continue to tolerate criminal behavior.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
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RE-GAZETTING A FORGED LAW IS NOT REFORM , IT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL COVER-UP
By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo
The recent directive by the National Assembly of Nigeria ordering a re-gazette of assented tax reforms due to “unapproved alterations” should alarm every Nigerian who believes in constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
Let us be clear and honest: this is not a clerical error.
This is not a typographical oversight.
This is not a harmless administrative lapse.
What Nigeria has witnessed is the alteration of a legislative instrument after it was passed by Parliament and assented to by the Tinubu. In plain legal language, that conduct fits squarely within the meaning of forgery.
Under our constitutional order, the process of law-making is sacred. A Bill passed by the National Assembly must be identical in substance and form to what is presented for presidential assent and eventual gazetting. Any deviation after passage is illegal. Any alteration after assent is criminal. Any attempt to “correct” it quietly through re-gazetting is an insult to constitutional governance.
By ordering a re-gazette, the authorities have inadvertently admitted a grave fact: the Nigerian public has been subjected to a law that was not passed by their elected representatives. That alone should have triggered immediate investigations, suspensions, and prosecutions. Instead, we are being told to “move on.”
But move on to where?
To a country where laws can be altered behind closed doors and simply re-published when discovered?
To a republic where forgery attracts no consequence because it was committed within government?
Presidential assent does not sanctify illegality. Assent cannot cure a document that Parliament never approved. A gazette is not law; it is only evidence of law. Where the gazette is false, the law collapses.
More disturbing is the dangerous precedent this sets. If tax laws can be altered without consequence today, tomorrow it may be electoral laws, criminal statutes, or laws affecting property and personal liberty. When this happens, citizens are no longer governed by laws made through their representatives, but by texts produced through executive convenience.
The silence on accountability is the real scandal.
Who altered the document?
When was it altered?
Under whose authority?
Why has no investigation been announced?
In a constitutional democracy, forgery is punished, not corrected quietly.
Re-gazetting without accountability does not restore legality; it normalises illegality. It tells public officers that the worst consequence of constitutional fraud is a quiet administrative redo. That is how the rule of law dies not with a bang, but with bureaucratic indifference.
Nigeria deserves better. The Constitution demands better. And citizens must insist that no law however well-intentioned survives if it is born of forgery.
Without consequences, there is no deterrence.
Without deterrence, there is no rule of law.
And without the rule of law, there is no republic.
Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo is a legal practitioner and public-interest advocate.
@MalcolmInfiniti I blame the igbo politicians. They are so selfish and disunited. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu supposed to have been free since but because his brothers are not standing by him.
@BashirAhmaad@PeterObi You can only deceive yourself and your supporters. You and your father cannot support any reasonable Nigerian to be president outside your islamization agenda and regional and sectional bias. Are you God, that you have started saying rubbish that Peter Obi can't president with
@ShehuSani Where is even our PVC? Over two decades ago I have not been able to exercise my franchise because my PVC can not be found.
Liars!!
That's not the real intent of the bill!