There was pandemonium in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, on Thursday after some participants at an Independence Day fitness event protested against what they described as an attempt to turn the programme into a campaign activity for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Nigerian Newssphere reports that the fitness event, tagged “Run & Rave,” was organised as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.
However, trouble reportedly started at PTI Junction after some participants discovered that the jerseys distributed for the event carried an image of President Tinubu.
Some of the youths, who said they were unaware that the jerseys would bear the President’s image, reportedly rejected them, leading to a protest at the venue.
A viral video from the incident showed some youths chanting, “We want Peter Obi, not Tinubu,” while others tore or set fire to some of the jerseys.
The aggrieved participants alleged that they had attended the event for a fitness activity and were not informed that it would feature political branding.
A voice heard in the video said: “They called it a race, but they now turned it into a campaign. Everyone is saying they want Obi.”
Another participant said: “After coming out for the race, we found out that we are unknowingly campaigning for Tinubu. The next thing we heard was that Delta youths are campaigning for Tinubu.”
She further alleged that the organisers concealed the President’s image on the jerseys distributed to participants.
She said: “They hid Tinubu’s face inside the Soft Nigeria [jerseys]. Let it be known that we in Warri only came out to run and not to campaign for Tinubu.”
Meanwhile, Nigerian Newssphere could not independently verify from the video whether the event was officially organised or sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC), or whether the jerseys were distributed as part of a campaign arrangement.
The incident comes amid growing political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with President Tinubu expected to seek re-election.
Watch video:
https://x.com/ChuksEricE/status/2105600938379510034
