Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has sparked mixed reactions on Thursday in Rivers State during the commissioning of the Ikoku flyover in Port Harcourt.
Naija News reports that the former Governor of Anambra State got people, including Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike laughing when he took a swipe at a presidential candidate in his speech.
Recall that Wike had invited Obi and other top political bigwigs to Port Harcourt for project commissioning.
When it was his turn to speak, Obi urged the citizens to support his camp in the 2023 presidential election.
He said: “Everybody knows our age, where we were born, and where we live. They know the school we attended, and we have classmates.
“This morning, I was telling somebody about Peter Odili. I said Dr Odilli was my senior boy in secondary school. We couldn’t have played football in CKC without Odili.
“Anyday he’s not in the match we have lost. So we know, I have people in Rivers State that went to school with me. Some people, nobody, have seen people who went to school with them.”
“So we must change it,” the Labour Party presidential candidate reiterated.
Reacting to Obi’s statement, Wike laughed while he stylishly avoided the camera to peep at his mobile phone.
See the video clip below:
Though Obi did not directly mention the name of the individual he was referring to, there are speculations that he was referring to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In July this year, Obi outlined why he is better than APC presidential candidate in the 2023 race.
The former Governor of Anambra, who was responding to a question during an interview with Vanguard, said his educational and entrepreneurial qualifications make him the better Tinubu
Naija News reports that Obi’s comments are in response to a statement made by the vice presidential candidate of the ruling Party, Kashim Shettima, who cast aspersions on Obi’s capacity to govern Nigeria.
It could be recalled that Shettima had earlier said that Obi lacked the structure and political base to win the 2023 election and a lack of leadership ideology like President Muhammadu Buhari and his principal, Tinubu.
Speaking on his capacity to lead the nation, Obi said: “INEC has stated the qualifications for contesting the elections, which I’m sure I’ve fulfilled, and I do not know the special qualification his principal, the APC candidate, possesses that I do not possess and I think I’m more qualified than his principal for that office.”
Obi went on to explain the reason his qualifications are more than enough to see him lead Africa’s largest population.
He said: “Is it age qualification? Is it education? Is it in terms of being an entrepreneur? I believe that anybody can be more qualified than me. But I’m qualified. His principal is a two-term governor, I am a two-term governor too. I’ve managed public resources comfortably and effectively to the best of my knowledge.
“I’m not saying other people didn’t do well. I’m not saying others are not qualified. But I’m saying that if we look at what we have been able to do in the past, I’m very very qualified to be the president of the country.”