Lies, deceit and the many reasons I want Obiano out – Peter Obi



Mr. Peter Obi’s unique story in governance is the subject of many conversations. Tales of his unprecedented frugality in the utilization of government resources have been celebrated in the media space and in hush-hush discussions. The success of his eight-year stint as governor of Anambra State was imprinted in the development of infrastructure, education, and security across the state.

His politics has, however, been described in some quarters as bordering on innocence and lacking in the sophistication normally associated with political practitioners in his native Anambra State. His innocence nonetheless, Obi was able to vanquish those that previously held the state captive. Mr. Obi who foisted a successor in the person of Chief Willie Obiano is today fighting the same man in a battle to salvage the state from what he dubs the lies, deceits of the same Obiano.

Excerpts:

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

Sir, how is the campaign going?


Going on very well. Electioneering is tough, especially in our country where truth is in short supply.

As somebody who has gone through elections, I often tell people to restrict their promises during an election to what is realistic. In essence, I always advocate for respect for the truth.

I read Cicero’s Manual of electioneering written for his relative called Quintus. Cicero advised him to tell lies about his opponent and to even invent scandals – this is what I see in Anambra State.

I am at the centre of the campaign and every day they invent stories about me. They sponsored people to comment, N7 billion, and when it appeared it was not working the man in question started wondering to himself! You are left to wonder the extent people will go because of an election.

As some one campaigning for my party, I have restricted myself to the truth, and I will continue to do so. Every statement I make to buttress the need for a change in the governance of Anambra is the truth. All you hear me say about money I left; the accruals, total absence of projects, my savings, are all verifiable.

As the issue is becoming controversial, how much exactly did you leave?

There is nothing controversial about it. Some people are deliberately introducing controversy where none exists.

All my life, I have managed money. I started business early in life, right from my primary school. By the time I got to the university, I was already travelling outside the country for business. Even as a student, other students gave me money to hold for them, because they knew that with me, their money was secured.

Whether in business or government, my attitude to money remains essentially one- prudence.

Now to your question of how much I left. On the 17th of March, 2014, that I left office, I left a total of N25 billion cash; another N23,600,000,000 set aside to execute some projects already identified or to finish critical projects already on. It was part of the two- year salary for the last set of civil servants we recruited – we did so in order not to encumber the new governor. Ironically, because these funds were tied to specific projects like the Amawbia to Amansea road, the NYSC main office at Umuawulu/ Mbaukwu, the hotels, malls. We also had critical projects like the Three Arms Zone, which included Governor’s Lodge. We did not include them in our hand over notes.

So if you are talking about total naira I left, it is actually N48,600,000,000. I will give you the breakdown of all the banks. (Showed all the bank statements, account names, banks and certified bank statements.)

In dollar component, I left $156 million. We had $56 million in Fidelity Bank, $50 million in Access Bank and $50 million in Diamond Bank. Today, going by the current dollar rate, the accruals and others, the money is about N200 billion.

We laid a solid foundation for my successor to start strong. Let me give you an example, toward the end of our government; we decided to build the new three arms zone, comprising the lodge, legislative building, and the judiciary complex. We awarded the contract at N8 billion and paid N2 billion. We awarded and commenced some roads, paid mobilisation and left my predecessor to perform their flag-off.

We also did a lot of ground work in our relationship with the Federal Government in different ways. We, for instance, commenced the roadwork from the Head Bridge to Umunya, after obtaining the written permission of the Federal Government to pay us back. After that portion, we got the permission to do Amawbia junction to Amansea, which I started. Part of the plan was to do Amawbia Junction to Umunya until the entire Express is completed. We are not losing anything since we will be paid back.

There was also the dualisation of a road that we call ‘Three-Three’ (Onitsha to Otuocha Junction.) These were some of the roads we set aside money for, among other things.

The government claims you left a debt of N127 billion?

The day I left office, I did not have any unpaid certificate of work that had been executed. I did not have any certificate of supply that was delivered that was not paid for. As an accountant I expect him to know that contracts are not debts until executed. He was just trying to confuse the people through half-truths. Let him explain to the people that he included contracts yet to be executed.

When I became Governor in 2006, Dr. Chris Ngige awarded the reconstruction of Zik’s Avenue – the major road in Awka, and a lot of other roads. These were ongoing projects. Because he paid for all the certificates generated, I did not say, based on the contracts unexecuted, that he left me with debts. No contractor came to me saying Ngige owed him. Likewise, ask the governor to tell you how many contractors came to complain that Peter Obi owed them.

The biggest contractor we had when I was in office was RCC and IDC, go and ask them if I owed them. Our biggest supplier was Innoson, Coscharis, and HP. In each case, I paid them in advance. I bought over 1000 vehicles from Innoson and paid him at least six months to one year before he supplied me one; the same with HP.

As Governor, I had dedicated amount I shared among the contractors once allocations came. That was why, under me, work went on non-stop.

Immediately my predecessor was elected, I explained all these to him in the hope that if he got it right, Anambra State would be the ultimate beneficiary. I even took him to all the international partners working for us. Ironically, it was Mr. Oseloka Obaze, using his international contacts, that connected us to most of them. We went to the World Bank, DFID, UN, JICA, EU, UNDP. In fact, I explained to him our relationship with the UNDP, how, after I allowed them to use our Lodge as office after the attack on their office and how the state had benefitted much fold. Surprisingly, one of the first things he did was to issue UNDP with a quit notice.


I am trying to recall this to show you how well we meant for the success of the governor. Rather than face governance, he is peddling falsehoods against me, including the accusation I bequeathed debt to him. Ask the governor to give you the schedule of those debts.

What is happening shows the quality they’ve reduced governance to in my state today. It shouldn’t be. It’s like a situation where they say “my government was able to export vegetables worth $5 million.” Where was that vegetable produced? What was the refrigeration process? Where is the documentation process? It is like also saying “my government is exporting rice.”

You saw the president on October 1, thanking states that are producing rice, he did not even include Anambra State that is now, according to the governor, a net exporter of rice.

They say, “my government had the order to export 10 million tubers of yam,” but everybody knows that in Anambra State most of the yams we eat come from Benue and Taraba states.

I think what is happening is that in the absence of executed projects to use to campaign, as Cicero advised Quintus, they are inventing lies and dressing them as the truth. Have you asked yourself why all this controversy about the money I left now that there is an election?

Nigerians are surprised considering the vigorous campaign you did for him in 2013?

If you have interacted with human beings, you would have known enough of some of them to be shocked over what they do.

I read Philosophy and I know about Blaise Paschal, who, in his book called Penses described man as a chimera, an animal in Greek mythology that had two heads, he is an angel in one and a brute in the other. Such contradiction is what we see among human beings. Yes, I campaigned vigorously for him and everywhere I went with him, they asked me this question. I told them he would perform and if he did not, I would be the number one person to campaign against him.

How much of Obiano did you know before promoting his candidacy?

I met Obiano in the bank. I was a bank director and bank chairman. The relationship between a bank director/chairman and someone who works in a bank is not close. However, we knew each other. And I believe that if someone has risen to a certain level in life, there is at least minimum standard of behaviour you should expect from him.

How would you react to the claim by Obiano that you demanded N7.5 billion from him?

This is another regrettable lie. On 23rd December 2016, he came to my house for the first time after he became governor. He came with an ordained bishop, to plead for reconciliation and to ask for my support for his re-election bid. There, I asked him about the N7.5 billion (story of me asking him for N7.5 billion), and he said it did not come from him, that he only heard it from people.


Now he is the one saying it. I’m sure the bishop will be listening to us. And other people who have been in the same meeting with him and I where I have reiterated that I do not want any kobo from him will know that I have never, on my own honour, asked Obiano to pay me money. I have not even been paid my severance allowance since I left office, which I am entitled to. I just told you what I left in office. Nobody has ever left one dollar.

If I were desperate, I could have comfortably taken just $30 million, and it will remain $126 million. Nobody on earth will leave money and go and beg the person he left the money for to give him some.

Because I made it clear to him that I would support my party and perhaps being told that my support was critical, he now resorted to blackmail. He is doing violence to himself because Nigerians will be reading in between the lines and will know who to trust and who to deal with in the future. It is unfortunate.


Beyond the falsehoods, what other issues do you have with Obiano? I don’t have any issue with Mr. Obiano. I have issues with Governor Obiano. What ever issue we have, I have forgiven him. But for Governor Obiano, he has turned governance into what it should not be. You’ve been reading wonderful things in the newspaper, but let Governor Obiano invite you to Anambra. When I was going for second tenure, I invited journalists three months to election and we toured all the projects we were doing and the investments we had attracted. Governor Obiano has attracted $7.8 billion worth of foreign investment, can you people come and inspect those yam fields where we are going to get 10 million yams, or the Ugu field, or the rice field, or where those investments are.

What role did you play towards the emergence of Obiano as governor?

I don’t want to go about how he emerged. He has emerged and did not perform, let somebody else try it. It’s just that in this country, so many people have emerged and they did not deliver. Even in the first world, people have emerged and they did not perform and they were asked to go.

Don’t you think he has the power of incumbency to his advantage?

I’m not going to rig the elections. I have never done it before. I am only going to tell Anambra people to ask for what Obiano did in the past four years as a basis for his re-election or being voted out. How many roads did he do? Let him tell you in which town he has completed two kilometers of road.

So let Obiano tell the people the one he did that requires him to come back. Let him say how many schools where he was able to give buses.

What we have today is that if you ask him about the roads constructed, he will say Peter Obi demanded this; ask him the school improved, he will say Peter Obi that. Ask him his manifesto; he will say Peter Obi only left “near cash.”

The matter of who provided security in Anambra is being contested, what can you say about that?

Whatever is good for the state gives me joy. The person that did it does not matter.

When Obiano was coming, I was the one who told him that we had put in so much energy on security and that we had done tremendous work which he could take advantage of by building on what we had done. I told him that the monies we were leaving, he could use them to start strong. For example, the Federal Government gave us $2 billion to fight erosion. I left it for him. Within his 100 days in office, he invited MD Abubakar, the then IG, to come and take control of 50 vehicles he said he bought for police. On that occasion, MD Abubakar told him that Anambra had done well in security, that under Peter Obi in five years, they never had any bank robbery, which was constant before I was there.

Go and read the interviews of security experts who knew about the Anambra situation when I was there. Their conclusion is that what is being enjoyed today in Anambra is built on a foundation laid by Peter Obi. I did not only buy over 600 vehicles for security agents; I bought Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)and Armoured Patrol vehicles and other advanced security gadgets.

It was I who went to the late President Yar’adua to give me permission and support to fence the army barracks in Onitsha.

These are things I did in my first tenure. I came when the issue was so critical that criminals with known names were coming and operating. I fought them to a standstill. Even Evans said I was the one who chased him out of Onitsha. But what I told the security officials was that I did not want our success to become news. Because if you are doing the right thing, you don’t have to make noise. The people will feel the success.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/lies-deceit-many-reasons-want-obiano-peter-obi/

You've done worst than obiano...... anambra people make the right decision for kicking your ass out

Shebi U did ur 8yrs pere and nobody removed u even though U claimed to own jus one watch... Oga go and rest and leave Obiano alone...
https://www.nairaland.com/4132515/e-book-scams-expose#61675928

Obi go and sit somewhere. You have done your bit and Obiano is doing even far better. Stop crying because you are not the owner of Anambra to decide who stays or go.

Obiano has done so well within just 3yrs and we shall return him to continue. Obiano is one of the 3 best performing governors in Nigeria today.

biacan:
You've done worst than obiano...... anambra people make the right decision for kicking your ass out

Bikonu, is this one okay?

I am from anambra and I have spent my entire life there, honestly speaking, government of obiano is the one of the biggest fraud in Nigeria alongside that of okorocha of IMO state , so much noise and many billboards but nothing on ground, all the roads today at anambra was done by Peter obi, almost every day the governor is signing memorandum of understanding, but you won't see anything tangible , billboards everywhere, I have been going round to see where the vegetables or the yams is being cultivated, its just a pure lie, look at governor ambode of Lagos and umahi of ebonyi, in less than 3yrs into office see how good they have performed without making any noise, just last week, obiano came to my town and flagged off a road with one catapillar and left since then Nothing is happening there , go to the site of cargo airport he signed the mou with Chinese firm the place is till a tick forest .asides paying of salaries which is not an achievement, obiano did nothing in anambra except putting up Billboards and barbing and carving his hair.

Peter talks with evidence in black and white. Let Obiano come and dispute those bank statements first before talking any further.

Also common sense tells me that Peter Obi cannot leave money in the treasury and come back to beg for it.

Obiano's 3yrs is office is far better than Obi's 8yrs. I thought Obi said he left 75b, now he claims it is 48b. Peter Obi is a fraud.

CaptainJeffry:
Peter talks with evidence in black and white. Let Obiano come and dispute those bank statements first before talking any further.

Also common sense tells me that Peter Obi cannot leave money in the treasury and come back to beg for it.

Obi couldn't take the 7b by himself because he has to tell us what he did with it, so he wanted to push the bulk to Obiano. But he was shocked when Obiano refused to yield to it.

Below is Obi's closest aide. He made it clear here about the money Obi requested from Obiano.

Why is the issue of campaign funds coming up if Obi did ask for me.

during Jonathan 's SURE P, Anambra state own was handled by office of anambra state First Lady , it was Willie wife that was in charge then, when I got there they collected 3000 from me before they took my credentials and at the end nothing came out of it, I didn't smell the program

Obiano is nothing but a lieing, scamming, betrayal and backstabber. Simple!!!

Obiano is going... Most of the International Agencies that worked with Peter Obi have left Anambra state owning to Obiano's failures to pay the state's counterpart funds. He forget we even voted trusting that Obi has gave us the best successor.

You installed him as a governor and now you want to push him out? Are you the electorates that will vote that day?
This politicians like taking us for granted. You were the one that force him on us as the Messiah and saviour now U are no longer seeing him as a Messiah Instead as a devil

Obiano is one of 3 best performing governors in Nigeria today.

Below is the reason Obiano fell out with Obi.

If not for insanity, why should an adult like obi, started a campaign about obiano, who has performed more better than him, just because he thinks obiano was too pompous?

If he truly cares about his people, shouldn't he support the one who has been doing well for his people?

Funny enough, these people will collect 500naira each and vote obiano out!!!

This cannot happen in yorubaland, you will duly be served your disgrace!

The case of Osoba in Ogun State, who tried to work against Amosun, backfired so greatly that he knew the people hated him..despite him thinking he was a godfather. Apart from his gubernatorial candidate loosing woefully, those honourables who followed him paid with third second term...they lost with him!

Also, the case of Tinubu and mimiko, in ondo state. Just because Tinubu has recorded victory with his candidates in Lagos, ogum and osun, he was duly laid bare when the people voted against his candidates, akeredolu, in favour mimiko, who performed very well at this first stint!

Mimiko, who now thought himself a godfather, was voted against when he presented a candidate after his woeful second term. Even Tinubu was floored again!

If anambrans actually allow obi to come and win, then the rumours are true about ....

MXrap:



Obi couldn't take the 7b by himself because he has to tell us what he did with it, so he wanted to push the bulk to Obiano. But he was shocked when Obiano refused to yield to it.

Below is Obi's closest aide. He made it clear here about the money Obi requested from Obiano.

Why is the issue of campaign funds coming up if Obi did ask for me.

My brother, the Peter Obi I know will not soil his hands because of N7b forget propaganda. I know him well and I live in LA with his younger bro Dr. Francis who is my close friend though I'm much younger to him. Peter is only supporting Obaze because of the hope that he will do well and also to make his party PDP strong enough in Anambra for his bigger dreams.

biacan:
You've done worst than obiano...... anambra people make the right decision for kicking your ass out

U need deliverance

SLIDEwaxie:
If not for insanity, why should an adult like obi, started a campaign about obiano, who has performed more better than him, just because he thinks obiano was too pompous?

If he truly cares about his people, shouldn't he support the one who has been doing well for his people?

Funny enough, these people will collect 500naira each and vote obiano out!!!

This cannot happen in yorubaland, you will duly be served your disgrace!

The case of Osoba in Ogun State, who tried to work against Amosun, backfired so greatly that he knew the people hated him..despite him thinking he was a godfather. Apart from his gubernatorial candidate loosing woefully, those honourables who followed him paid with third second term...they lost with him!

Also, the case of Tinubu and mimiko, in ondo state. Just because Tinubu has recorded victory with his candidates in Lagos, ogum and osun, he was duly laid bare when the people voted against his candidates, akeredolu, in favour mimiko, who performed very well at this first stint!

Mimiko, who now thought himself a godfather, was voted against when he presented a candidate after his woeful second term. Even Tinubu was floored again!

If anambrans actually allow obi to come and win, then the rumours are true about ....

You have said it all. Anambra people knows the truth. They will vote Obiano for 2nd term because he has even outperformed Obi in just 3yrs. Obi is intimidated by Obiano's excellent performance. Another reason Obi got angry is because of the 7.5b he asked the governir to give him, to which Obiano refused. See evidence below.

Obi is a crook. I worked under him. Here's the evidence of the money he requested. Why are they requesting money? Tell us.


[s]

CaptainJeffry:
My brother, the Peter Obi I know will not soil his hands because of N7b forget propaganda. I know him well and I live in LA with his younger bro Dr. Francis who is my close friend though I'm much younger to him. Peter is only supporting Obaze because of the hope that he will do well and also to make his party PDP strong enough in Anambra for his bigger dreams.

[/s]

Obiano is loved by the people because of his excellent performance in just 3yrs.

Chaiiiii.....so all the ugu exports,yam fields and rice fields they have been disturbing us with on nairaland and other platforms are all lies peter obi just said it oooooo.

Rice production in Anambra. Obi is a bitter fellow.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZVPVFJhK_0

Anambra people are wiser. The truth about security in Anambra.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1TP98-or6Y

Obi is just intimidated that Obiano outperformed him in just 3yrs.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SqvbINF3ME

Dosinspector:
during Jonathan 's SURE P, Anambra state own was handled by office of anambra state First Lady , it was Willie wife that was in charge then, when I got there they collected 3000 from me before they took my credentials and at the end nothing came out of it, I didn't smell the program

Jesus

Despite all the state money, Willie's wife still decided to collect #3000.

CaptainJeffry:
My brother, the Peter Obi I know will not soil his hands because of N7b forget propaganda. I know him well and I live in LA with his younger bro Dr. Francis who is my close friend though I'm much younger to him. Peter is only supporting Obaze because of the hope that he will do well and also to make his party PDP strong enough in Anambra for his bigger dreams.

I swear I knew Peter obi before, and I swore several times in his defence until Joe Martinz uzodike was caught on tape saying it very loud.
in his word he said "loans are meant to be repaid, 7 billion naira loan was used to prosecute the election, I was the election campaign DG.Peter obi asked his brother to get some money and he did.
see, let me search for the tape, if any of you here have it, please share it.
I could not believe my ear. He said this! guy I will never trust any Nigerian politician, all of them are all liars..

but lies and deceit are the attributes of nig politicians even peter obi
so why his he angry with him

Peter should go and sit down. Shey na because Obiano no gree give you wetin you want. Now you wan get another puppet you go fit control .
Anyways, Obiano till 2021

lereinter:

but lies and deceit are the attributes of nig politicians even peter obi

so why his he angry with him

Abeg ask him oooo. The last time I checked, he is Peter Obi the Politician and not Saint Obi

Oviconji:
Obiano is nothing but a lieing, scamming, betrayal and backstabber. Simple!!!

Obiano is the best option we have