The Peter Obi and Datti campaign (Obi-Datti) has blasted the former governor of Edo State State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for his comment regarding Peter Obi`s time as governor of Anambra State and his performance in the area of security in the state.
BASIC FACTS
- Adams Oshiomhole have claimed that Peter Obi performed poorly in the area of security during his time as the governor of Anambra State
- He made this claim in response to the pledge by Peter Obi to tackle the insecurity ravaging the country if he wins the presidential election.
- However, this claim by Adams Oshiomhole has be found as untrue and misrepresentation of facts.
WHAT WE KNOW
Clariform have obtained a statement from the Obidient Movement from the Obi-Datti Media office, which describes as untrue a recent statement credited to Adams Oshiomhole, the former National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adams Oshiomhole, who was also a two term governor of Edo State had claimed that the candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi was unable to perform creditably well in the areas of security during his time as the governor of Anambra State.
Therefore, according to Adams Oshiomhole Peter Obi cannot fix the insecurity bedeviling the country at the moment if elected as the president of Nigeria in the February 2023 election.
In response to the statement from Adams Oshiomhole the Obi-Datti campaign office have described the former APC governor as a conveyor of lies and misrepresentation.
The Obidient Movement this Monday backed their discrediting of Oshiomhole`s false statement with factual evidence in the form of testimonial from the former Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Mohammad to Peter Obi for outstanding record on security in Anambra State during his tenure as governor.
NOTABLE QUOTES
The statement from Obo-Datti campaign reads in part:
“The attention of the Media Office of Obi-Datti Campaign was drawn on Sunday to the baseless claim by the former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole that the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi has no capacity to tackle security as his tenure in Anambra proved so.
“The former Edo Governor also in his groundless outburst to satisfy his audience claimed that it was Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano who was able to solve some security challenges that Obi could not tackle.
“When the LP candidate told Nigerians severally to go and verify his past, he knew what the outcome of such verification would be, in his favor, except for attack dogs like Oshiomhole who would always stand truth on its head, fabricate tales ostensibly to satisfy his pay master who incontrovertibly is not verifiable.
“If Comrade Oshiomhole had bordered to verify Obi’s security records as Anambra state governor, he would have found what the Inspector General of Police in 2014, Abubakar Mohammad said in Awka, Anambra state capital on April 10, 2014 shortly after Obi left office that was copiously captured by many mainstream and social media establishments on April 11, 2014.
“Oshiohmole but for mischief would also have found that Obi is on record to have been one of the most ruthless state Governors in tackling the kidnap menace in the country. It’s still green in everybody’s memory how Obi personally supervised the sealing off and demolition of hotels and buildings used by Kidnappers and other criminal gangs in the state. Crime record in Anambra state under Obi was outstanding and security leadership never failed to appreciate this feat.
“Below we republish a story as published by one of the top National Dailies, the Nation Newspaper in the country on April 11, 2014 captioned “IG declares Anambra safest since five years”
“The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed, yesterday declared that Anambra State remained the safest state in the last five years, according to police records.
“Abubakar, who was speaking at the Women Development Centre, Awka, at the state’s Stakeholders’ Summit announced that there was no bank robbery in the state in the last five years during former Governor Peter Obi.
“He urged Governor Willie Obiano to emulate his predecessor by sustaining the security situation in the state.
“The inspector-general hailed the relationship between the police and the government under Peter Obi, which contributed to the improved security, and reassured Governor Obiano that the police would give him a 100 per cent support to rid the state of kidnappers and robbers. He urged Obiano to deal with any ruler, who encourages crime in his community.
‘’I am ready to support Anambra governor actualize its dream of securing the state. And I must assure you that if the governor is initiating measures to strengthen security in Anambra, he needs the support and it is time for the governor to tell you that the change you are looking for is here.’’
“He assured the people that the era of police impunity is over, and ordered that the harassment of road users by siren-crazy politicians should stop”
“Obi-Datti Media therefore urges members of the public to be vigilant and resist any attempt to foist proxy Presidents on them with lies and they should repel any fraudulent try to frustrate the Movement’s goal of taking back our beloved country battered by corrupt and greedy leaders.
“Let’s always remain Obidient and focused for a new Nigeria whose time has come.”
CATCH UP
Clariform recalls that Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in a recent interview on CNN pledged that tackling insecurity will be one of the major focus of his administration as the president of Nigeria.
He made this pledge in response to a question about how he will fix the faltering Nigerian economy, which almost gone comatose under the current President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
TAKEAWAY
It is important to note that the Nigerian laws, especially the constitution of the federal republic does not allow the governors free hand to tackle security situation in their respective sates.
The laws, which are fashioned more like that of a unitary state puts all the instrument of security, including the Nigerian police entirely into the hands of the president, leaving the governors at the state level only ceremonial roles.
This is not withstanding the reference to the governors as the chief security officers in their state. This is only a name, which is garnished with no actual powers to perform the role of a chief security officer.
