The spokesperson for the Labour Party’s Presidential campaign, Tanko Yunusa, has claimed that Peter Obi, the party’s flagbearer, has no connections to the Indigenous People of Biafra.
Yunusa’s explanation came in response to allegations made by the Concerned Citizens Network, a civil society organization, in a petition to the European Union, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. The petition claimed that the banned organization was endorsing Obi in the upcoming 2023 elections.
According to reports, the group asserted that IPOB had provided tactical support to Obi ever since he expressed interest in running for President in 2023.
In contrast, Yunusa claimed in an interview that the charge was untrue and that it was made up to turn Mr. Obi’s followers in the South-East region against him.
Yunusa said, “It is a total lie, the allegations are completely false. This is like saying Atiku Abubakar of the PDP is receiving tactic support from Boko Haram terrorists or Fulani herdsmen, or that the OPC and MC Oluomo’s group is giving tactic support for Bola Tinubu of the APC.
“The truth is that Peter Obi has never been associated with any terrorist organization, be it OPC, IPOB, or Boko Haram. He treats issues holistically as a nationalist and as someone who wants to come into power to treat issues accordingly.
“The records are there from what he did as Anambra governor for eight years. When the IPOB issue started in Anambra, Obi treated it as every other crime perpetrated in his state, and that was why throughout his tenure there was no single robbery in Anambra. That is a pointer.
“However, he has listening ears to listen to anyone who has any agitation against the country and against the state in order to find solution to it. That is how leaders behave, and that is what epitomizes Obi.
“But if a group of people believes in the candidature of Obi, that should not be termed as IPOB supporting him. That is a total lie, it’s a case of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
“They’re only trying to disassociate us and demarket us amongst our people in the South-East. But we’re solid and determined to go all the way to win this election.”
In contrast, the CCN claimed that Obi continued to play to the gallery on IPOB’s nefarious activities in South-East Nigeria despite the willful destruction of lives and property in letters sent to the EU Mission in Nigeria, the US Ambassador in Nigeria, and the UK High Commission in Nigeria.
The group claimed in the letters, which were signed by its President Duru Chima and Secretary General Ajibade Jacobs, that the region has consistently faced IPOB threats, which Obi has refused to denounce or explain how he intends to tackle the threat posed by IPOB, if elected President in the upcoming elections.
It said, “We have it on credible authority that IPOB has tactically endorsed Peter Obi’s presidential aspiration, which is mainly responsible for enlisting some known IPOB sympathizers into his presidential campaign council.
“On several occasions, Obi has systematically refused to make the IPOB threat to our democracy a campaign focus because the promoters of IPOB are his kinsmen and known financial contributors to his presidential campaign.
“This is a worrisome trend that would put the country in a precarious situation should Peter Obi be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The deceitful game played by Peter Obi and his supporters can promote ethnic and religious tension in the country.
“In several public outings, he attempted to change the narrative concerning the formation and sustenance of IPOB by alluding that it was a creation of governors of states in the South-East. This, we gathered from reliable sources, was a part of the deal he entered with the group in return for support during the Presidential elections.
“The overarching objective is to attack critical government establishments such as the Nigerian Police and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s offices to harass and intimidate faithfuls of other parties into submission to voting for Obi in the Presidential elections.”
The group also claimed in the letter to the US ambassador in Nigeria that Mr. Obi had supported IPOB before he ran for President under the Labour Party.
It added, “He extended logistic and financial support to the group while he was governor of Anambra State. It is also a known fact that IPOB has tactically avoided areas that are strongholds of Obi and have launched attacks in the regions that are not his stronghold by intimidating and harassing those that do not share in the ideology of Obi.
“Scores of lives have been lost and properties destroyed by the activities of IPOB. We have it on good authority that Peter Obi promised to upturn the proscription of IPOB as a terrorist group by the federal government.
“The recent damage by IPOB is a part of the script endorsed by Obi as an action strategy to ensure that other political parties do not make inroads in South-East Nigeria during the elections.
“The Peter Obi Presidential Campaign has also engaged a massive identification of supporters and patrons of other political parties in South-East Nigeria to cause bodily harm to them and destroy their businesses, weakening their support and preparations for the general elections.
“The Ambassador may wish to admit that, indeed, these are trying times in the country and South East region, in particular with the recent drive by IPOB to make the region unsafe for those that do not support the presidential aspiration of Obi.
“It is thus our passionate appeal to the USA to beam its searchlight on the activities of the Peter Ob: presidential campaign team to unravel the mystery behind the sudden resurgence of the notorious activities of IPOB.
“In a recent interview on Channels Television, Peter Obi was quoted as saying IPOB members live around him and do not constitute a threat to the country. He was quoted saying he would dialogue with IPOB if elected president.
“This is indeed unacceptable, hence this letter calling on the attention of the United States of America to look ints to an unholy alliance between Peter Obi and [POB. Nigeria cannot afford a president poised w propagate ethnoreligious conflict at this critical point of our existence.
“As critical stakeholders in our democracy, we wish to appeal for the urgent intervention of the USA in ensuring that Peter Obi and his supporters de not plunge Nigeria into a conflict of unimaginable proportions.”
