Aisha Yesufu, the co-founder of #BringBackOurGirls Movement, is being attacked by tweeps over the failure of the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, to publicly detail how he spent his campaign donations.
Socio-political analyst, Kelvin Odanz called out Yesufu, a strong supporter of Labour Party and Obi over her tweet on the alleged rigging of the 2023 presidential election in favour of President Bola Tinubu and subsequent calls on opposition to withdraw their cases and support him.
The activist had written: "Hope you all can see with your own korokoro eyes that All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the same. From their politicians to their sycophants.
"You don’t have to believe what I said about both in 2021. See it for yourselves. They are both oxygen wasting, transactional mindsets people!
Odanz, however, knocked Yesufu, saying: "Aisha, the Peter Obi you campaigned for was in PDP for 8 YEARS, leaving just 3 days to 2022 Primaries. Datti-Yusuf is Ex APC/PDP. Your DG Doyin Okupe is Ex PDP. PAT Utomi is Ex APC.
"You spent the entire campaign period begging for donations but forgot to beg God for sense and shame."
Yesufu replied, tweeting, "Normally you beg for what you don’t have.
"While you are at it also beg for courage, integrity and consistency. That way you don’t need to take flight like a coward at the first hint of heat."
The matter which started between Yesufu and Odanz has turned into back-and-forth attacks and tweets between the duo, with Hushpuppi in Hijab’ trending on the microblogging site, Twitter on Sunday after the latter used it to describe the former.
A Nigerian socialite and internet sensation, Ramon Abbas, better known as Hushpuppi is an international fraudster serving jail term in the United States.
In November 2022, Hushpuppi was sentenced to 11 years and three months in jail by the US Central District Court in California over fraud and money laundering.
He will however spend only nine years in prison as he had already spent two years in prison in the US.
Hushpuppi was in June 2020 arrested in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, over an extensive fraud scheme that has robbed victims of their money in the United Kingdom, US, Qatar, and other places.
He was extracted to the US where he was charged with fraud and money laundering. Hushpuppi pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering with multiple people within and outside the US.
Ayodeji. S. Akerele, a supporter of President Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), attacked Yesufu, querying: "When are you accounting for the money you raised from Nigerians??
"Its okay to raise money through crowd funding but you must account for how it was spent. That's the right thing to do."
Another Twitter user, @AgronomistSeyi wrote: "You dey ask that emergency crossbag super cashivist to do the impossible."
Another Twitter user with account @Annurabubakar15, tweeted: "You didn't address the issues as raised, u ar campaigning for ex PDP and APC shamelessly though, And u kept on Talking and Criticizing them everyday do you think you are morally up right Madam it's about ur conscious and what you are claiming to represent.."
Yesufu however responded with: "Let me repeat what I had said, the rule of law means no one is above the law. Tinubu’s forgery and rigging are too dire for Nigeria to simply move on.
"What moral justification would we have to speak on forgery with a forger fraudulently occupying the number one political office?"
Odanz replied with the following tweet: "I didn't campaign for either Atiku or Tinubu. Not for one second. Don't belong to any party's WhatsApp group or attended any party's meeting.
"Unlike you that was begging for donations and went around dancing like a lunatic once credit alert hit your account. Hushpuppy in Hijab.”
Aisha hit back: "People like @MrOdanz are used to campaign funds from already looted public funds and find campaign fund raising alien.
"Let me repeat again, we must put our monies where our votes are. We must donate to those running for office otherwise we will continue to have those…"
@proudlyjoe then responded: "A nation where the rule of law is sacrosanct, no one should be above the law.
"Forgery & rigging are serious transgressions wit far-reaching consequences, & Nigeria can't afford to overlook them. How can we credibly condemn forgery when a forger holds the highest political office?"
However, on Twitter, Yesufu also posted the following among others in the back-and-forth she has been having with Odanz.
She tweeted, “Those who were shouting ‘You people cannot get one million votes. You are wasting your time’ are crying on my TL.
“Una just start the 50 years of wilderness.”
She also tweeted, “Let me repeat, APC and PDP are the same. Both their politicians and sycophants. Check those who are subtly telling you to let bygones be bygones since a forger that rigged election is occupying the presidential seat! Na their way.
“Nigerians are religious and moral when it comes to ordinary citizens but their religiosity and morality ends when it comes to public office holders.
“They want to monitor the lives of their fellow citizens but are cowards in the face of those that should be working for them.
“Let me repeat what I had said, the rule of law means no one is above the law. Tinubu’s forgery and rigging are too dire for Nigeria to simply move on. What moral justification would we have to speak on forgery with a forger fraudulently occupying the number one political office?
“I became an Active Citizen 2014 and you people still do not understand that I do not operate on the level of seeking validation?
“I am not interested in people liking me. I have enough love for myself.
“Infact the more you hate me the freer I am. I no send your papa, you no send me.
“I even shamelessly danced on credit before the credit alert sef. You are the one who is having sleepless nights on my behalf.
“@MrOdanz is this any way due to the fact that you ran like a castrated he goat when police attacked us during #Endsars? Are you still hung up on that?
“People like @MrOdanz are used to campaign funds from already looted public funds and find campaign fund raising alien.
“Let me repeat again, we must put our monies where our votes are. We must donate to those running for office otherwise we will continue to have those who looted our Nation dry perpetuate themselves or their stooges in office.”
Kelvin Odanz (@MrOdanz) also tweeted: “This lunatic has gone from accusing me of benefiting from campaign funds (I never participated in anyone's campaign) to now talking about a joke I made during endsars to stoke her bloated ego.
“Madam Aisha, stay away from drugs please.And stop the donation fraud too. Ki yi hakuri.
“You indeed look like someone with crack cocaine in her blood. Please take off that Hijab.”
Meanwhile, many tweeps have been knocking Yesufu with some describing her as a hypocrite.
For instance, Emma ik Umeh (Tcee ) (@emmaikumeh) said, “Aisha is a bloody hypocrite for saying Apc and Pdp are the same, was Peter Obi, not a member of the Pdp for 9 years? What changed? Aisha campaigned and supported Buhari. Hushpuppi in hijab.”
Vox-Populi (@akinculture01) tweeted, “She flew halfway across the globe with PO for free lol..like we don't know politics is a game of money and numbers.”
Some tweeps also mocked Yesufu over Odanz’s ‘Hushpuppi in hijab’ label.
Aniekan Ufot (@thethirdmiracle) tweeted, “Hushpuppy in Hijab?? Ah!! ”
Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC) is the only candidate in the 2023 presidential election who has publicly declared how his campaign donations were spent.
In June, Sowore, through the Sowore Political Action Committee (SPAC), released the final detailed account of his campaign revenue and expenditure.
The SPAC in a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Femi Adeyeye, challenged all the opposition candidates who participated in the general elections to publicly declare their campaign funding sources and expenditures.
Sowore in October 2022 also gave a detailed account of the expenditure and revenue from funds raised to fund his presidential campaign, and in January this year, the SPAC released details of financial transactions made to support his campaign for November 2022.
Adeyeye stated that the SPAC had released the final breakdown of the 2023 presidential election campaign donations, sources of funding and expenditures in line with the best campaign practices and the spirit of accountability.