The All Progressives Council (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has criticised the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi for fanning the ember of ethnic tensions in the country.
The Council, also said that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu has not withdrawn from the race on health grounds as it has been spread on social media.
A statement by the Council spokesman and Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, in Abuja said that the APC standard bearer “is strong, healthy and fit enough for the coming campaigns.”
Keyamo said that “the opposition will hear loud and clear from him (Tinubu) soon.”
It was alleged that Obi’s supporters were responsible for the false and misleading posts on some social media handles.
The Council also faulted an offensive and hate video, allegedly made and circulated by Obi, in which he accused “Tinubu’s Group” of spreading a WhatsApp message calling on Yorubas not to vote for him.
Debunking the purported WhatsApp message, Keyamo said that all the groups supporting the Tinubu/Shettima ticket have clear designations with well-known promoters.
Keyamo said: “It is only messages released by the APC Presidential Campaign Council that are officially authorised and for which we take responsibility.
“We challenge Mr Peter Obi to reveal the source and name(s) behind that nebulous WhatsApp message.
“We wish to state that it is obvious Mr Peter Obi deliberately concocted that message and circulated that offensive video himself as a campaign strategy in order to come across as a victim of some kind of ethnic agenda, whereas in truth, he is the real agent provocateur of an ethnic agenda.
“As the takeoff date for campaigns draws closer, Mr Peter Obi has suddenly realised that Nigerians are beginning to burst his bubbles as his messages are bereft of ideas, depth and clear-cut solutions to our challenges.
“His messages are only full of false data and highfalutin jargons in what is clearly a disingenuous ruse to distract a scrutiny of his empty records as a Governor of Anambra State and nothing else. Hence his easy recourse to playing ethnic card and fanning the ember of hate.
“We have it on good authority that part of the “US Strategy” (just like the failed “Dubai Strategy” his former boss and himself adopted in 2019) was to return to the country and spread ethnic hatred amongst the voters and cause chaos, then pose as the victim. They have just kick-started that plot by orchestrating and circulating the said video.
“We find it utterly disgusting, demeaning and insulting to the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerians for a Presidential Candidate of the ilk of Peter Obi to make such a video parroting a spurious, unverified and sham message that has the potential of deepening our faultlines as a nation and further promoting ethnic tensions.
“This is completely unbecoming of a Presidential Candidate that hopes to unite this country. Again, we note that Mr Obi’s latest stunt is consistent with what is now widely perceived as his adoption of hate as a campaign strategy, having consistently failed to rein in his known and identifiable supporters, mostly domiciled on social media, threatening political opponents with violence and death.”