We welcome His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi to the 2019 presidetial election where he will run as Vice Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
We acknowledge Obi as an Igbo and native of Agulu in Anambra State, but will quickly state here that Obi is neither a candidate of Ndigbo, nor the South East, who both agree on a more altruistic corporate strategy for ascendency to the presidency of Nigeria outside 2019 time-mark and Obi’s individual ambition,that he is not in control of.
Again we need to remark that if HE Obi is not tainted himself, he will run on a tainted ticket,in which his principal VP Atiku Abubakar is in the eye of the storm for matters of integrity and reputation,in and out of Nigeria,and nothing in the horizon promises a recovery from the factual negative impression.
However ,with this lone- standing ambition of Obi’s comes an opportunity for the governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, to introduce his real self to Anambra State and Nigeria. Obi’s first and last public office was Governor of Anambra State, but the state and the nation will now have a second chance to know the ‘stranger’ that the imperfections in Nigeria’s polity threw up to preside over their affairs.
While we acknowledge that there is time enough ahead to deal with specifics, we quickly request, in reaction to Obi’s candidature and in the public interest,from HE, Mr Obi, 10 clarifications/causes of action in the immediate:
1- His Excellency Mr Peter Obi should personally present a Curriculum Vitae that Anambra State and this time, the entire Nigeria can rely on to know him, as the conflicting ones so far in the air are either scanty or inconsistent, lacking vital parameters than should be contained in a CV. We do not agree yet with those who think this is deliberate, but will have no option if within this week, ending October 19, 2018 this request is not honoured.
2- We request HE Obi to explain in clear detail how Anambra State paid the majority amount,but got minority shareholding in SABMiller Breweries, yet another company NEXT INTERNATIONAL in which Obi has commanding interests and which built NEXT SUPERMARKET within Obi’s governorship tenure,combined with a traditional ruler under the outfit INTERFACT BREWERIES to bag majority shares without input. By extension, Obi should explain who he handed over as Chairman of Next International , prior to resuming as Governor of Anambra State ,what the performance trajectory was in his absence, and if he has returned as Chairman of the Company, which warehoused N250 million cash from Anambra State vaults in Lagos office under his watch as governor.
3- We request HE Obi to explain what his role was under President Jonathan in returning N135bn as cost of Second Niger Bridge,without connecting roads, and his interest in the company slated to install toll gates and collect money from users of the bridge ,mainly Ndigbo for an estimated 30 years , based on amortization of the given cost.
4- We request a clear explaination regarding the non- award of the Second Niger Bridge Contract under President Jonathan which ran against the grain of Obi’a campaign words as Cordinator of Jonathan’s campaign in Southern Nigeria. We are aware that it took the APC administration to execute the contract on the project and source funds to free Ndigbo from a 30-year toll- gate slavery under merchants with Igbo names.
5. We request HE Obi to explain what ecological projects the N8.4 billion accruing to Anambra State in August 2013 from ecological funds were expended on and what handover indications there were for that particular fund.
6- We request HE Obi to explain why he bribed INEC officials throughout Nigeria, during 2015 elections channeling the funds through a commercial bank he has major interest in, the slush funds for which INEC officials are under trial and if he is considering repeating that game for the tainted ticket on which he has been enlisted.
7-We request HE Obi to explain why the bigotry of religion which served him unmerited favours well but left debilitating rifts between christian denominations in Anambra State, will not rear up its head, to unstatesmanlike ends, in the national stage if Nigerians go out of their way to elect himVice President.
8- We request HE Obi to explain why under his watch over 100 Nigerians mostly of South East extraction were in 2012 killed to his knowledge and consent, and thrown into Ezu River,which ought to have been one of the base resources in Obi’s failed water supply project in Anambra State.
9- We will also humbly request HE Obi to explain why in seven years and a half, out of eight years of Anambra governorship , no local government elections were conducted in Anambra State, yet his principal Atiku eulogises the provision of opportunities for the youth using the local government, an idea we do not oppose.
10. Finally, in this initial piece,we request HE Obi to explain his appointment as governor by interests extraneous to Ndigbo and the coincidence in the repeat of history, where the same extraneous iinterests appointed him as Vice Presidential candidate without the input of any fly from the South East, and correspondingly,with an agenda unknown to a zone with a different plan. This is particularly important because shortly after the system was manipulated for him to become governor, he ordered the shooting at sight of agitating and unarmed members of the Movement for the Sovereign Statr of Biafra (MASSOB) , working on a set agenda from the extraneous interests.
Once again we welcome HE Obi to the race and wish him an enjoyable participation.
For : ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS,ANAMBRA STATE CHAPTER.
Arc. Okelo Madukaife
State Publicity Secretary
Awka. October 16,2018