Yemi Obafemi
Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has denied claims that he once worked for late military ruler, General Sani Abacha.
In a statement posted on his official X handle, Obi described the allegations as false and mischievous, asserting that his involvement with the military regime was limited to a civic engagement on port decongestion.
“In consonance with my established principles of defending everything I am involved in… I hereby attach the letter which documents my co-opting, along with others, into the Taskforce on the decongestion of the Ports,” he wrote.
“As I stated during my interview at the weekend and consistently maintained in the past, I had never met General Sani Abacha before that encounter. Our meeting with him was borne out of collective concern as traders and importers over the prolonged delays in clearing goods at the ports. We approached him not as political actors, but as concerned citizens seeking pragmatic solutions to a matter affecting economic activity and livelihoods.
“Our intention was clear: to advocate for efficiency, and to propose practical steps towards restoring normalcy in port operations for the benefit of the wider business community and, ultimately, the Nigerian economy.
“This clarification is offered in the interest of truth, to reaffirm that our actions were driven solely by a sense of civic duty and not political ambition.
“I don’t expect this copious evidence to bury this Abacha case because the mischief makers have ulterior motives, but it’s being placed in the public space for posterity and in line with my transparency pledge to Nigerians on any issue I am involved in,” the statement reads.
