Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has expressed deep concern over the worsening conditions of Nigerians living abroad, revealing that many facing xenophobic attacks in South Africa would rather remain there than return home.

Obi, who recently returned from South Africa, made the remarks at a dinner organised for aspirants of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Abuja on Monday. The comments were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the NDC media team.

“I just came back last night from South Africa. You know what Nigerians are going through in South Africa and so many other African countries,” Obi said.

He disclosed that despite efforts to facilitate the return of distressed Nigerians, many rejected the offer, citing worse conditions back home.

“We provided facilities for them to come back. But most of them told me they would rather die there than come back. They said things are even worse at home,” Obi stated.

The former governor said he used the opportunity to engage South African leaders, including former President Thabo Mbeki and three ministers, to plead for better relations between South Africans and other African nationals.

“I took time to sit down with three ministers who are leaders of their own parties to plead with them about how things can work between South Africans and other African nationals, and we had a very fruitful discussion,” he added.

Obi criticised the Federal Government for failing to adequately support Nigerians facing hardship abroad.

“It is not only in South Africa that Nigerians have problems… I have had cause to ask them if our government has visited and the answer is no. If your country is not there for you, who will care for you?” he queried.

He also lamented Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation, noting the country’s past prominent role in global peacekeeping.

“Nigeria played a role in securing nations since the Second World War… But today, Nigeria cannot secure itself. This is unacceptable,” Obi said.

Meanwhile, NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson explained why the party could not deploy electronic voting for its primaries as earlier planned. He said the platform was ready but required further testing to avoid glitches.

“After now, any other primary in the NDC for the next three months upward, and certainly by the next round of elections, every registered voter will start using their phone to vote,” Dickson stated.

He added that the NDC is being built on ideology and service, not as “a special purpose vehicle for any human being.”

Also speaking at the event, former Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Buba Galadima, urged aspirants who fail to secure tickets to remain loyal to the party.

“The time pushed on us by the APC government through the National Assembly is not a friend of the NDC,” Galadima said, reminding aspirants that only one person can emerge as the candidate in each constituency.

The Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has applauded the Abuja Federal High Court judgment that affirmed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.

In a statement issued by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP described the ruling as consistent with the law and common sense, emphasizing that laws cannot have retroactive or retrospective effect.

Ememobong said the suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility was “a gross abuse of court processes” and an unnecessary distraction that should never have been filed in the first place.

He further welcomed the punitive cost slammed on the plaintiff, describing it as a necessary deterrent to “busybodies and irritants” who allow themselves to be used by forces seeking to undermine democracy.

“This development, coupled with the screening waiver that our party had granted President Goodluck Jonathan, has made the pathway for his presidential rescue mission totally unfettered,” the statement read.

Ememobong added that the PDP’s primaries to select candidates for all positions will hold on May 28, 2026.

Fresh legal hurdles have emerged in the political crisis rocking Rivers State as a group of lawyers has dragged the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Kingsley Chinda, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to bar him from contesting the 2027 governorship election.

Chinda, who also serves as Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, emerged as the APC’s candidate in the party’s governorship primary held on May 21, 2026, after running as the sole aspirant. Other notable contenders, including incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Tonye Cole, and Alabo Dakorinama George-Kelly, had withdrawn at the last minute.

However, the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners filed a suit on May 12, 2026, challenging Chinda’s eligibility. The plaintiffs argue that his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC violated provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 (as amended) and relevant Supreme Court judgments on legislative defection.

The group is asking the court to:
– Stop Chinda from participating in the 2027 Rivers governorship election.
– Order the Speaker of the House of Representatives to remove him as Minority Leader and declare his seat vacant.
– Direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election to fill the vacancy, citing Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.
– Prevent INEC from recognizing his nomination as APC candidate.

The suit also initially targeted George-Kelly over his failure to resign as Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency before the March 30, 2026 deadline for presidential appointees seeking elective office. However, with George-Kelly’s withdrawal from the primary, focus has shifted primarily to Chinda.

In an affidavit supporting the suit, Jesse Amuga, Administrative Secretary of the plaintiff association, stated that Chinda’s continued occupation of his legislative seat while pursuing the APC governorship ticket is unlawful. The plaintiffs noted that Chinda was served a pre-action notice in October 2025 warning of a possible recall process if he defected, which he allegedly ignored.

Chinda’s emergence as APC candidate has added a new layer to the long-running political tensions in Rivers State, particularly involving his political ally, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and Governor Fubara.

The case is pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.