A former presidential aide Reno Omokri has slammed Peter Obi, former Anambra State Governor and Presidential candidate of the 2023 election of Labour Party (LP) accusing him of irresponsibly baiting the military with claims that democracy has failed in Nigeria. Obi who was at a forum at the 60th birthday colloquium of former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja on Monday argued that democracy is collapsing in Nigeria and that rather than progressing, the country has regressed. In a fiery statement on Monday, Omokri argued that Obi’s presidential ambition, not democracy, is what has truly died.
“Peter Obi should be careful about baiting the military to plan a coup with his claims that democracy has collapsed in Nigeria. That is a most irresponsible statement,” Omokri cautioned.
According to him, Obi lost the 2023 presidential election “fairly and squarely” and afterward failed in his legal battles at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the Supreme Court receptively.
Defending the controversial State of Emergency declared in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Fubara, Omokri dismissed Obi’s concerns as hypocritical.
Omokri opined that similar actions had been taken in the past under different administrations, including during Peter Obi’s tenure as Anambra State Governor.
“Peter Obi is from Anambra. We remember when the Governor of Anambra was undemocratically removed even after swearing an oath to his godfather at the Okija shrine and locked up in a toilet. If democracy did not die then, why should it die now, Peter?” Omokri asked.
Illustrating historical parallels, he said: “Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa declared a State of Emergency in the Western Region in 1962 and suspended the Premier. President Obasanjo did the same in Plateau and Ekiti, removing Governors and appointing Administrators. Peter Obi was Governor of Anambra at that time and did not raise any concerns or complaints.”
He accused Obi of double standards, highlighting his failure to conduct Local Government elections in Anambra for seven years, a move that he described as unconstitutional.
“Peter Obi did not hold Local Government elections in Anambra for seven years. He became Governor in 2006 and only held elections in 2014. Yet, here he is today, saying democracy in Nigeria has died,” Omokri said.
Taking a final jab at Obi’s political future, he declared: “This is about Peter Obi and his failed Presidential ambition, which died the day his ‘Yes Daddy’ audio threatening religious war on Muslims was leaked, not about Nigeria.”
