By Louis Achi
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, has corrected what appeared as a slip of the tongue during his interview on the Channels Television’s Politics Today this Sunday: that all the commissioners that served in his eight-year administration were northerners. Although the supporters of the ruling APC have been amplifying this slip since Monday, a day after the widely reported television encounter anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, most listeners understood that Obi meant “commissioners of police”, not all his commissioners.
In a brief telephone conversation with THISDAY on Monday, the NDC presidential candidate stated that, during his period in office as Anambra State governor, the state worked with multiple commissioners of police, CPs, none of whom was from the South-East, but rather career officers from northern states.
“I meant that all the commissioners of police that served during my administration as governor of Anambra State were northerners. Of course, I could not have meant that all commissioners in my administrative cabinet were northerners. I believe I corrected this error on air during my interview with Channels Television on Sunday,” Obi told THISDAY on Monday.
From THISDAY checks, the six CPs during Obi’s tenure were indeed northerners. These included John Haruna (Taraba State), Amua Bello (Kwara State), Philemon Leha (Adamawa State), Muhtari Ibrahim (Kano State), Balla Nasarawa (Kebbi State), and Usman Gwary (Adamawa State).
Out of the six CPs, four were Muslims. Three out of the six CPs – Gwary Usman, Alhaji Amusa Bello and Philemon Leha – later publicly defended Obi against negative political rumours, testifying that his administration maintained religious tolerance and good relations with all groups.
They also stoutly exonerated Obi from the allegation of demolition of mosques and the sacking of non-indigenes, particularly northerners, from the state, as propagated by the opposition against him on social media.
Speaking on different occasions on the subject matter, they were unanimous in rating Obi as a fair, humane and detribalized Nigerian whose passion as the governor was for the good of all within his jurisdiction.
They dismissed the news of demolition of mosques during Obi’s tenure as a lie and propaganda obviously planted by the opposition to discredit the former governor, calling on all well-meaning Nigerians, including northern youths to disregard the news as fake, and urging them to always try as much as possible to verify news pieces before believing them.
