Obi brands Nnamani’s claims against him as senseless, unsubstantiated

The allegations levelled against the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, by the former Enugu State Governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, have been dismissed as senseless and unsubstantiated.

Nnamani had on Monday blamed his loss in the last Saturday’s senatorial election in Enugu East on Obi’s ethnic politics.

The former governor, who also formally announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claimed “Obi’s devious opium served to Christians within sections of Nigeria and to Igbo domiciled in different sections of Nigeria is wicked and dangerous.”

Reacting to the allegations in a letter addressed to Nnamani on Tuesday, the former Anambra State governor challenged him to provide evidence of such.

Obi slammed the former governor for putting up such baseless accusations, stressing he had never portrayed himself as an ethnic bigot.

He also condemned the ethnic rivalry brewing in Lagos State following his victory in the February 25 presidential election.

Read also:Peter Obi reacts to violence during Gov‘ship election

The letter read: “Throughout these electioneering campaigns, you have consistently cast aspersions on my person, despite my always being respectful to you as an elder brother, and never publicly or privately commenting negatively about you.

“I am really surprised that you as my dear elder brother would go out of the way in the exercise of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in our law to go into saying what he knows is not true.

“I find it very shocking that you had to label me as an ethnic and religious bigot and as one who indulges in a campaign of hatred. In this instance, I like to state unequivocally that I am the direct opposite of what you said in your statement and what my campaigns have been.

“I want to believe that my dear elder brother must have mistaken me for someone else because, in this campaign, I have consistently championed issues-based campaigns, and maintained so, even using illustrations and data to buttress my position, to the extent that I have been accused of using data wrongly and media houses had to create fact check desks just to monitor and address issues I raised during campaigns.

“I have been on record to have insisted severally throughout the country that I should not be voted for based on any ethnic or religious link, but to be considered based on Character, Character, Capacity, and Compassion. I have always respectfully requested that my track records and integrity be verified.

“Maybe my brother would like to know that I got more votes from non-Igbo in Lagos, Abuja, and other parts of Nigeria, and even if Igbo voted for me should it be the reason why they should be chased away from where they are living and making tangible contributions to development?. Britain will not send Indians packing because they voted for an Indian to become the Prime Minister.

“I also noticed the spirited efforts you put up to tag me a tribal bigot but such would be hard to prove empirically and I would like to advise my dear elder brother not to join in such senseless and unsubstantiated allegations just to dent one’s image.

“As I very much know that among the critical characteristics of every good leader are listening, and learning and my brother advised that I should return to school to learn some aspects of leadership I am lacking.

“Why should I go to school to pay huge fees when I can get it free of charge from my dear elder brother who knows it better? I respectfully appeal that I be invited by my Senior brother to teach me accordingly.”

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