The Presidency has hit back at Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), following his criticisms of the Federal Government’s approach to national security.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, challenged Obi’s governance track record, questioning his credibility to lecture the current administration on security management.
Quoting a past video clip of Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, Onanuga suggested that Obi’s supporters are attempting to rewrite history regarding the true state of security during his tenure in Anambra State.
“Ask Peter Obi today, whether Anambra was secure under his watch, he and his Obidients would attempt a brazen revisionism. But the internet never forgets. And Obiano, Obi’s successor, is still alive,” Onanuga stated.
In the referenced video footage, former Governor Obiano claimed that the security architecture of the state was severely compromised at the time he took over administration.
“Peter Obi handed over a state with zero security to me. Over 69 people were kidnapped under him, and indigenes avoided coming home to Anambra.”
The reply from the presidency follows a series of statements by Obi, who has strongly condemned the Tinubu administration’s handling of the country’s security crisis.
Obi focused heavily on the recent mass abductions of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, and Mussa, Borno State, arguing that such tragedies are becoming normalized. He noted that while roughly ten school abductions occurred during Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure, the current administration has recorded over ten mass school abductions in its first three years alone.
Obi also criticized the emergency federal approval to recruit 1,000 forest guards for Oyo State to comb the Old Oyo National Park, calling it a reactive, knee-jerk policy that lacks a structural blueprint. He questioned whether similar approvals would be extended to the other 35 states facing security issues, or if the directive was merely based on impulse.
Furthermore, Obi raised concerns about how the new federal initiative would align with existing regional security structures like the Amotekun Corps in the South-West.