The ruling All Progressives Congress and supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, took to the streets of social media in a war of words on Monday over an alleged threat to the life of the former Anambra State governor.
This is coming after Sunday’s interview on Arise Television, where the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, claimed that the former Anambra governor had “crossed the line” in his recent criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Morka alleged that Obi was desperately seeking to incite Nigerians into bringing down the current government.
The APC spokesman subsequently ended his argument with a subtle threat of “he has coming to him whatever he gets.
“Mr Obi is shooting from the hip. He is not looking or taking an aim. He just shoots widely like the Wild Wild West movies we used to see back in the day. He is absolutely irrational in his thinking about a man who was governor for eight years and left nothing to remember in Anambra State by way of legacy.
“Now that he didn’t win, he is sulking. Rather than get a perspective or figure out why he lost so he can do better in the future, he thinks he can bring down the government by simply being maliciously deceptive. That is wrong.
“I am not somebody to go on the offensive in that manner, but Mr Peter Obi has crossed the line so many times, and I think that at this point, he has come to him whatever he gets.” He explained further.
In his reaction, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, warned the APC against intimidating Obi, his family members or close associates, insisting that such a threat should not be allowed to go unaddressed.
The former spokesman of the Obi presidential campaign council also warned against any attempt to arrest his principal, adding that Nigerians would call for the head of the ruling party.
“That is a threat. If they make the move (to arrest Obi), it will boomerang on their government. In a democratic setting, Obi did not in any way impugn anybody’s integrity, nor did he cross any line. We are not making any false allegations.
“But if they threaten anybody with some level of impunity, believe me, the Nigerian people will react negatively to them. They must learn to accept it. If they have a counter-allegation to the issues we are raising, they should be provided with facts.
“Obi only spoke to the issue that concerns every Nigerian, which he has a right to. So, what this simply means is that what we have been accusing them of, gagging, arresting and then maiming people to the level of intimidation and impunity, is what they are planning to administer on Nigerians starting from this January just because people have spoken against bad governance.” He added.
The Labour Party chieftain called on security agents not to allow the APC spokesman’s threat to slide without proper investigation.
According to him, the Obidient Movement will not be intimidated into silence by the ruling APC government.
He said, “We stand firmly with Peter Obi and his vision for a just, equitable and prosperous Nigeria. We call on Nigerians to resist this slide into authoritarianism by continuing to demand accountability, justice and the protection of democratic values. Finally, we urge the security services to not sweep such threats under the carpet as they had done in previous times but engage Mr Morka to elucidate on his utterance.
“Furthermore, the ruling party called to order their mouthpiece and members at large to desist from actions that could heat up the polity. In addition, the government of the day should foster an environment of noble ideas to shape our national discourse and not threats. They must be seen to be tolerant of criticism.
“The level of impunity and attack they put on the previous government of the PDP was worse than this and they are getting less of that criticism in their own government. So, criticising them is a way of uplifting the standards of our democracy. We Nigerians have the right as covered under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to speak to issues.”
Also reacting to the interview credited to Mr Morka, the Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Sam Amadi, has downplayed the possibility of the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka plotting evil against the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Amadi blamed what he called APC curse for Morka’s remark against Obi.
Obi had alleged a threat to his life following his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in his New Year message.
Reacting, Amadi posted on X: “I know @Morka2Felix as reasonable and intelligent. We were graduate course mates. He is polished. I don’t know what got over him. I hear about the @OfficialAPCNg curse.
“May be. But I don’t see him plotting evil against @PeterObi for good natured criticism. That’s unlike Felix.”
