Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) has expressed his belief that Nigeria would be in a better state today if Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s candidate, had won the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, on Monday, Abaribe criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of nepotism and contrasting it with what he envisioned under Obi.
He said, “If Peter Obi had won, you probably would have seen a better Nigeria than what we are seeing today.
“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”
The lawmaker lamented that Tinubu appointed four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.
“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.
”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”
He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.
“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.
The lawmaker welcomed the arrest of self-acclaimed Biafra leader Simon Ekpa in Finland.
“What it does is that it will tell those people at home who are purveyors of violence, who have been instigated by Simon Ekpa, to now know that he actually said he is just a content creator,” he said.
“We have always said that what he continues to direct from there is antithetical to what the Igbo stands for, and it is totally wrong.
“And what has happened is that a legitimate quest by the IPOB seeking a non-violent referendum was turned by all these kidnappers because they have found a key because, to an average Igbo people, when you say Biafra, you must be doing the right thing.
“Whatever they say they are doing in the south-east is not supported by anybody in the south-east. All you have is a band of criminals.
“Also, our security agencies find it difficult to discern between a criminal and somebody who is saying he is doing agitation. So, every little thing that happens, they would say it is IPOB.”
Abaribe added that releasing Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), could end insecurity in the south-east.
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