Dr. Mo has expressed admiration for former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, now the NDC presidential candidate, describing his travel schedule as one that is very hard to keep up with.

"Just visualise what I'm saying"

According to Dr. Mo, travelling with Obi means moving from one city to another, sometimes across continents, with little time to settle before the next journey.

"We move from Lagos to Abuja, then take off to London. From there, we spend eight hours flying to Houston, hold a meeting and move to Phoenix, then California. We return to Texas, go to Dallas, fly back to the UK and eventually return to Nigeria," he said.

"Just imagine it. Just visualise what I'm saying."

"One in a million"

Dr. Mo described Obi as "one in a million", expressing admiration for the amount of travelling and the number of engagements he handles.

For anyone who has done long-distance travel, moving through several cities, attending meetings and catching yet another flight can be exhausting. Doing it repeatedly, while running a national campaign, is another level entirely.

Over to you

How does Peter Obi manage such a demanding schedule, and where does he get the energy to keep moving?

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has drawn attention after reportedly leading supporters in reciting Nigeria's former national anthem rather than the current one.

What happened

A video from the party's town hall meeting in Oregun, Lagos, on Thursday, 12 November 2026, which went viral afterwards, shows Obi and the NDC's Lagos governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, choosing not to recite the current anthem when attendees were asked to stand for it. Instead, they and the crowd recited the old anthem, 'Arise O Compatriots', together.

The anthem change

Nigeria replaced 'Arise O Compatriots', which had been in use since 1978, with its original post-independence anthem, 'Nigeria We Hail Thee', in May 2024. President Bola Tinubu signed the change into law after the bill passed quickly through the National Assembly. The speed of the change drew criticism at the time.

Response

Neither Obi's campaign nor the APC had commented on the video at the time of writing.

Background

The same town hall meeting was disrupted earlier in the day by suspected thugs, before it went ahead. The presidential election is scheduled for 16 January 2027.

Protesters confronted the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, in London on Thursday, 12 November 2026.

What happened

Amupitan was in London to speak at a panel on Nigeria's preparations for the 2027 elections, hosted by Chatham House and the Kimpact Development Initiative. Nigerian diaspora activists who had mobilised on social media gathered outside the venue and reportedly surrounded his vehicle, accusing the commission of favouring President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and demanding his resignation. They cited duplicate entries and AI-generated images in the preliminary voters' register and alleged fake polling units.

Amupitan's response

At the panel, Amupitan pledged to turn down any political or diplomatic appointment after leaving INEC, saying he wanted to demonstrate his impartiality, and said the commission was introducing technical safeguards. INEC has said it removed 1.6 million invalid records from the register, including entries with manipulated images, and flagged officials in 10 states. Amupitan also again denied operating an X account that had allegedly posted support for the APC during the 2023 elections, saying he had never had an X account and that it was never linked to his email. INEC said in April that the claims were fabricated and that fake accounts had been created in his name.

Background

At the same event, Amupitan said INEC would obey the final court ruling on Atiku Abubakar's candidacy. The presidential election is scheduled for 16 January 2027.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will be bound by the final court decision on whether Atiku Abubakar can contest the 2027 presidential election.

What INEC said about Atiku

Speaking in London on Thursday, 12 November 2026, where he was briefing an audience at Chatham House on election preparations, INEC chairman Professor Joash Amupitan said the commission would follow whatever final ruling the courts give in the dispute over Atiku's nomination. A Federal High Court in Abuja on 5 November nullified the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and reportedly voided the primary that produced Atiku as its candidate. The ADC has appealed, and its lawyer has argued that the judgment contained no express order invalidating Atiku's candidacy.

Materials on the move

Separately, INEC National Commissioner Professor Rhoda Gumus said on Thursday that the commission had begun moving non-sensitive election materials to some geopolitical zones. Speaking while receiving a delegation from Kenya's electoral commission, she said INEC had completed nine of the 14 activities on its election timetable, finished producing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and sent the first two batches to most states. She urged registered voters to collect their cards and said staff training was under way.

Background

The presidential election is scheduled for 16 January 2027. Amupitan recently completed a tour of the six geopolitical zones to assess readiness. Separately, a Federal High Court in Kaduna on Thursday nullified an ADC primary in the state, adding to the party's legal troubles.