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2023: Economist tips Obi as best choice for Nigeria

February 19, 2023

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Six days to the 2023 presidential election, highly-rated London-based newspaper, The Economist has stated that Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), is the best choice for Nigeria.

The Internationally revered newspaper described Obi as “a sprightly 61-year-old”, while Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was described as “an old-school politician who, at 70 years old, is unlikely to shake things up”.

The Economist also said that Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is no better than Tinubu, stressing that “the former vice-president has grandiose ideas for industrialization and one million new police officers but no plan for how to pay for them”.

In an article titled “Nigeria desperately needs a new kind of leadership”, The Economist said: “Obi, a sprightly 61-year-old former state governor who is leading in the polls, offers an alternative.

“Most striking, he has urged people not to vote along ethnic or religious lines, but to favour competence.

“Should they do so, it would mark a radical shift in Nigerian politics. He has also warned his supporters they should expect no money in return for their votes.

“Obi talks of supporting business, freer trade, and getting a grip on Nigeria’s mounting debts. He diagnoses the country’s failings more precisely than his rivals, though he is not much better at explaining how he would fix them.

“His promises to scrap the staggeringly wasteful petrol subsidy and rationalize the central bank’s many exchange rates are echoed by his opponents.

“Obi is not entirely a new broom. He was Abubakar’s vice-presidential running-mate in 2019 before switching parties.

“He has faced questions over undeclared offshore assets. (He says he earned the money in question before he took office as governor.)

“Even if he wins, his Labour Party is very unlikely to gain a majority in the national assembly, so governing will be hard.

“But he is the only candidate to offer Nigerians much hope of change.

“In a country that has been badly and repeatedly failed by its leaders, he is easily the best choice,” the newspaper stated.

The Economist said Nigeria has been cursed with bad rulers but Obi, “a third-party presidential candidate, offers a measure of hope”.

According to the medium, “Africa’s most populous country is in desperate need of it (hope). The economy, the continent’s biggest, bursts with youthful potential — half the country is 18 years old or younger.

“A flourishing Nigeria would boost the whole of Africa. Instead, it is dragging it down.

“Nigerians are poorer now than they were in 2015, when the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, took over.

“At least 60 million (and rising) survive on less than the equivalent of $2.15 per day. Buhari’s protectionist policies have made things worse.

“In addition, the country is beset by violence,” it stated.

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Opinion

Suspension of Mike Ozekhome SAN: A Hasty Decision By The LPPC And The Prejudicial Effect Of Same

by Newsdesk Africa

June 26, 2026

By Sheriff. C. ADELE, Esq On June 23, 2026, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), at its 173rd General Meeting, approved the suspension of Chief Mike Ozekhome from the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). The suspension, announced pursuant to Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is to remain in force pending the final determination of disciplinary proceedings before the LPPC’s Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee. While the LPPC asserts that the suspension is intended to "safeguard the integrity, dignity and prestige of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria", this decision raises profound concerns about procedural propriety, jurisdictional overreach, and the prejudicial effect it portends for both the legal profession and the administration of justice. This article critically examines the hasty decision of the LPPC, its implications, and why it constitutes a premature verdict that undermines the very principles of natural justice the legal profession is sworn to uphold. Chief Mike Ozekhome, a prominent constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, is currently facing disciplinary proceedings before the LPPC’s Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee. The proceedings relate to his involvement in a controversial property dispute in the United Kingdom concerning a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London. Chief Ozekhome is also standing trial before an FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on a 12-count charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty. What is particularly significant and troubling is that the same issues before the LPPC are also pending before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), the body statutorily charged with the responsibility of sanctioning legal practitioners for professional misconduct. The LPDC is yet to make any determination on the substantive allegations against chief Ozekhome. Yet, the LPPC has proceeded to impose a suspension that, in practical effect, constitutes a pre-determinative sanction. The Distinct Jurisdictions of the LPPC and LPDC To appreciate the gravity of the LPPC’s decision, it is essential to understand the distinct and separate roles of the LPPC and the LPDC under Nigerian law. The LPPC is a statutory body established under Section 5 of the Legal Practitioners Act. Its primary function is to consider and determine eligible applicants for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the LPPC is also empowered to make rules as to the privileges to be accorded to Senior Advocates of Nigeria. While the LPPC has disciplinary powers over SAN holders, these powers are ancillary to its primary function of conferring and regulating the rank. The LPPC's disciplinary authority is derived from its guidelines, including Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. However, this authority is limited to matters pertaining to the rank itself and the privileges associated with it. The LPDC, by contrast, is a committee of the Body of Benchers established under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act. Its mandate is far broader and more fundamental: it is the primary disciplinary body for all legal practitioners in Nigeria. The LPDC exercises jurisdiction over all lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar and is empowered to investigate allegations of professional misconduct and impose sanctions ranging from admonition to suspension and disbarment. The Critical Distinction The distinction between these two bodies is not merely academic, it is fundamental to the proper administration of justice in the legal profession. The LPPC is primarily a conferring and privilege-regulating body. The LPDC is the disciplinary body par excellence. While the LPPC may have incidental disciplinary powers over SAN holders, these powers cannot supplant or pre-empt the primary disciplinary jurisdiction of the LPDC. When the same issues are pending before both bodies, as they are in chief Ozekhome’s case, the LPDC’s determination on professional misconduct must logically precede any disciplinary sanction from the LPPC. The LPPC cannot independently determine facts of professional misconduct that are the exclusive province of the LPDC. The Hasty Decision: A Premature Verdict The LPPC’s decision to suspend chief Ozekhome from the rank of SAN pending the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings is, with respect, a hasty and premature verdict that suffers from several fundamental flaws. Procedural Impropriety ...