Obi playing politics with Nigeria’s unity —APC

The All Progressives Congress says the “sensationalisation” of the recent “home return” of 14 persons from Lagos State by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State can threaten the nation’s unity.

The party, in a statement on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said Obi’s action was dangerous.

The APC said instead of reaching out to his Lagos State counterpart, as he had done on less important issues in the past, Obi wrote an “over-dramatised letter” to the Presidency and leaked it to the media.

According to the party, Obi, by his action, has set off an avoidable friction between the Igbo and the Yoruba.

The APC added that Obi by the approach, wanted to gain an undue advantage ahead of the forthcoming Anambra governorship election.

The APC stated, “We are not saying Governor  Obi has no right to play politics, but he must fight clean and avoid any action that could hurt, not just the enduring harmony between the Igbo and the Yoruba, but also the unity of the country.

“Resorting to primordial sentiments, anytime election is approaching, is Governor Obi’s modus operandi. He did it just before the 2009 election, when he labelled the ACN, under which Dr. Chris Ngige contested, as a Yoruba party, and he is going down the same path now. This is all about the November 2013 election.

“If Governor Obi is sure of his performance, he should allow that to speak for him and stop whipping up tribal sentiments. It is very dishonourable for a political leader, at the level of Obi, to show total disregard for the truth and to whip up emotions for personal gains,as he has done on this issue. By his deliberate and blatant distortion of facts, as we will show shortly, Obi has raised a serious doubt about his leadership qualities.”

The party also accused some non-governmental organisations of “indiscretion and deliberate peddling of falsehood.”

The party said, “Even some of the respectable Igbo socio-political organisations failed the simple test of fairness by not checking the truth before making pronouncements.

“Even if they do not trust the Lagos State Government, they could have, at least, inquired about what happened from their son, who is a ranking member of the cabinet of Lagos State.”

The party added, “All those, who consider the home return of 14 Anambra indigenes as a reflection of the Lagos State Government’s (and by extension the Yoruba) ill-will toward the Igbo, should consider the following facts.

“There was an exchange of correspondence dated April 9, 15 and 29  2013 between the Lagos State Government and Anambra State Government, through its Liaison Office in Lagos, about the ‘integration’ not ‘deportation’ of the 14 people.

“Anambra State Government did not respond to requests by Lagos State to come and validate/identify the people, who claimed to have come from Anambra. Had it done so, this issue could have been better managed.

“Lagos State itself received notice from the Government of Akwa Ibom to come, identify and pick up two Lagos indigenes that they picked up in a ‘lunatic clean up’ exercise in Uyo. Lagos responded promptly without making any noise about it.

“In December,  2011, the same Anambra State Government, that is now crying foul over the home return of Anambra indigenes, arrested and repatriated 29 beggars to their home states in Ebonyi, another Igbo State, and Akwa Ibom.

“Then, it was conveniently not ‘deportation’ but ‘repatriation’ and no tribal meanings were read to such action.”

The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Anambra State Governor, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, said he would discuss with his principal before reacting to the APC statement.

He promised to call back as soon as he got the governor’s nod. He had yet to call back as of the time of filing this report at 10pm.