The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of not believing in the unity of Nigeria, despite occupying the country’s highest political office.
Obi made the claim on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television, while recalling a 1997 interview in which Tinubu was quoted as saying, “I don’t believe in one Nigeria.”
Tinubu made the reported remark during the military era, when he was an active member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pro-democracy group that opposed military rule and campaigned for the restoration of democratic governance.
Tinubu later became governor of Lagos State following the return to civilian rule in 1999 and went on to become President of Nigeria.
Speaking on the television programme, Obi said he believed in a united Nigeria and was committed to preserving the country’s unity.
“Today we have a President who said he doesn’t believe in one Nigeria but he is sitting as the President. I believe in Nigeria. Yes, Tinubu said he doesn’t believe in one Nigeria, but I believe in one Nigeria, I’m committed to it and I want that unity,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor stressed that the statement attributed to Tinubu was not made by him, adding that he should not be held responsible for events that occurred when he was a young child.
“This is him saying it, I didn’t say that, but you can’t hold what happened when I was barely three or four years old against me. It’s in the past and there are other things that happened subsequently,” Obi added.
