Victor Ezeja
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, says he did not oppose crude oil find and exploration in northern Nigerian states of Bauchi and Gombe.
A statement from the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council described as ‘fake news” certain information portraying Obi as being opposed to the oil exploration project in the north.
A report in a section of the media had claimed that Obi made the statement against oil exploration in northern Nigeria while he was in Ibadan, Oyo State, for his campaign rally.
According to Diran Onifade, Head of Media, Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, the LP presidential candidate, except the speech he made during his campaign rally in Ibadan, never spoke to any journalist separately and never made any reference to the oil discovery in the north eastern part of the country.
Onifade said Obi is supportive of any initiative that would improve the country’s economy.
He described the report as a deliberate act of mischief makers to de-market him in the North East and North West ahead of the 2023 presidential election, noting, however, that the plot had failed.
The statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to the false information mischievously attributed to the Presidential Candidate of Labour Party Mr Peter Obi portraying him as being opposed to the commencement of crude oil exploration in Bauchi and Gombe States.
“The fake news deliberately targeted at the North East and North West regions of the country claimed that Mr. Obi made the statement in an interview in Ibadan, Oyo State where he addressed a rally on Wednesday, 23 November, 2022.
“We hereby State categorically that apart from his campaign speech which has been widely reported Mr Obi did not speak with any journalist while in Ibadan. He has also not had the cause to make any reference to the oil find in the North East at any time.
“Peter Obi is supportive of any endeavour aimed at improving the economic fortunes of Nigeria. He has stated time and again that his plan for Nigeria’s economic turnaround rests substantially on the vast land of the North.
“He therefore urges all Nigerians to regard the fake news as another ploy by desperate political principalities to hold on to the last straw as they are clearly about to lose their stranglehold on the people and resources of our dear country.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
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