The spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Minister of State for Labour, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN) has said that the trending video made and circulated by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, is disgusting, demeaning and insulting to the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerians.
Debunking the video in a statement made available to journalists on Monday, Keyamo vehemently deny the existence of any of such “Tinubu group” as mentioned in the video.
A viral video of Peter Obi has emerged where he said that the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is not healthy, stressing that his (Tinubu) supporters are only after his money.
Obi in the video also questioned Tinubu’s source of wealth.
But reacting to the viral video, Keyamo said; ‘’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. OBJ’s latest stunt is consistent with what is now widely perceived as his adoption of hate as 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.
“Firstly, we vehemently deny the existence of any of such “Tinubu group” that made and circulated such a message. All groups supporting the APC Presidential Candidate and his running-mate have clear designations with well-known promoters.
“In addition, it is only messages released by the APC Presidential Campaign Council that are officially authorized 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 draw 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 call on all well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic origins or political divides, to rise up and condemn this tactless tactics and cheap manoeuver by a desperate non-starter of a presidential candidate who has decided to resort to crude revisionism, ethnic jingoism and crass insensitivity with a view to whipping up undeserved sentiment to fuel his faltering ambition that is nothing but a flash in a pan.
‘’Our advice to Mr. Peter Obi is to quit the race if he has nothing more to tell Nigerians’’.
