The former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, says Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), is deceiving Nigerians and could not fix insecurity in Anambra while he was governor.
Oshiomhole, also a former national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) carpeted Peter Obi over the latter’s proposed solution to the challenges of insecurity bedevilling the country.
Oshiomhole spoke on Sunday at the progressive young leaders’ summit organised by the APC, in Abuja.
He said the LP candidate was only deceiving Nigerians with his touted proposal.
“Who was the governor when Bakassi developed in Anambra and who solved the problem?” Mr Oshiomhole queried during an APC youth summit in Abuja on Sunday.
“So, if a man couldn’t fix a security challenge in his own state which requires courage, how can he convince that he would fix the security challenges all over Nigeria?” he retorted.
Mr Obi, had said the best solution to the security challenges confronting the nation under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, was to remove the people from “poverty”.
The LP candidate had also proposed that each state of the federation should be placed in charge of its own security.
“I have said it repeatedly that if I have the opportunity, every state will be responsible for their security,” Mr Obi had said while appearing on a Channels TV programme.
But Mr Oshiomhole wondered why Mr Obi could not fix insecurity in Anambra state while he held sway as a governor.
He added that the LP candidate cannot convince Nigerians that he will provide solutions to the country’s security woes since he couldn’t do so as governor of Anambra.
The former APC chairman said instead of Mr Obi addressing the security during his tenure as Anambra governor, he left the menace for his successor to contend with.
“For those of you who are social media warriors, there are issues here that you need to speak to. Go to Google and look at the first six months of governor Obiano’s administration in Anambra state.
“What you will find on YouTube is governor Obiano using bulldozers to demolish the houses of kidnappers and those who were involved in what they called Bakassi boys or even girls,” Mr Oshiomhole said.
He added, “So, when they say ‘I will fix Nigeria’, did you fix your state?”
According to him, if Mr Obi had solved the security problem in Anambra, Governor Obiano would not have spent the first six months of his administration cracking down on suspected criminals.
Mr Obi handed over to Obiano as governor of Anambra in March 2014 at a time the state was facing internal insecurity challenges.
Mr Obi, who was the governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, promised to prioritise tackling insecurity and fixing the economy if elected president next year.
The former governor is remarkably popular among the Nigerian youth on social media even though his record as Anambra governor has been repeatedly attacked by opponents.
Mr Obi is facing Bola Tinubu of the ruling party, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and several others at the February presidential election.
