By Abiola Olawale
The National Youth Leader of the Labour Party, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu, has issued an advise to the presidency, urging them to abstain from any attempts to target the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, in connection with a purported proposed nationwide demonstration.
Ahanotu, in a press statement, warned that targeting or arresting Obi could worsen the proposed protest and further plunge the nation into anarchy.
The National Youth Leader said Obi, a two-term governor of Anambra State, has never incited any violence for a call for protest.
He added that the youths are ready to defend any attempt to blame Obi for what he described as the “failure of the current administration.”
The statement reads in part: “It is important to state categorically clear that Mr Peter Obi is the most peaceful Nigerian politician alive today who, despite the manipulation of his clear electoral victory in the 2023 presidential election had asked his supporters who are mostly the youths of my generation not to engage in any form of protest or agitation.
“It must be noted that it could have only taken a statement from Peter Obi in that instance for Nigerians to flood that collation centre in Abuja to occupy.
“It must be recalled that it was in this same country that a former president made an inciting statement of making the country ungovernable if he was not elected; eventually he was not elected and indeed people were massacred and yet that person was never arrested in 2011.
“It was also in this country that …incited his supporters in the last election to grab his political victory by all means, including fighting for it as power is not served in ala carte; of course without recourse, we saw the compliance in Lagos State and many other states where APC was thoroughly defeated by the Labour Party.
“Recall also that it was the current president who spearheaded a protest against the former government of President Jonathan Many of them in government today participated in the oil subsidy protest in 2012. Why are they now afraid of protest?
The current president, whom Onanuga is working for, is one of the grandfathers in New Nigeria starting from NADECO times.
“Nevertheless, we wish to dissociate our hero of democracy, Mr Peter Obi, from any form of allegation from Bayo Onanuga’s wonderful government and therefore state categorically clear that any attempted attempt to unlawfully and illegally target Mr Peter Obi will truly and sincerely be an affront on Nigerian citizens who believes that a better Nigeria is possible.”
This comes after special adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga accused supporters of Peter Obi of purportedly instigating the proposed nationwide protest.
Onanuga who took to his official X handle said the planned protest is being organised by the supporters of Obi and the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The Senior presidential aide warned that the organisers are the same individuals who hijacked the #ENDSARS protest of 2020.
However, Obi and the Labour Party have denied any involvement.
