This may be another case of ‘enmity’ between a former governor and his successor, as rumours have it that the former Governor of Anambra, Peter Obi has been allegedly barred from coming into the state by Governor Willie Obiano.
Obi told newsmen that the Governor has no right to stop him from visiting Anambra or talking about the state and has thus debunked such rumours.
Reports have it that the Governor’s aide, Oliver Okpala alleged that Obi made some unwarranted statements against Obiano.
Okpala in a statement made earlier, said “To this end, this is a notice that, henceforth, any further unwarranted attack on the governor will be met with a very tough response.
“Let it be noted that we have done our investigations, and we know that those sponsoring these unfounded attacks against the governor include those who have tasted power before, either as governor or secretary to the state government.
“We have their records, to the minutest of details, and we will not hesitate to unleash a higher degree of attack on their persons with verifiable proofs in our possession so that the world would know the dirty stuff they are made of.”
Obi, who described the statement as a threat, said it will be a disaster if the government of Anambra starts acting like a dictatorship in a democratic dispensation.
He said “Such an order will amount to asking me to go on exile. I have a house in Onitsha and live there.
“I served Anambra State for eight years. As the governor, I kept saying I would live in the state for the rest of my life to enable me share the joy and grief of the people. Why would somebody say I should not attend events in the state?
“Why would somebody request that I should stop saying what I did as the Governor of Anambra State, when people are still talking about the good deeds of the likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief M.I. Okpara?
“Most of the things said are not for self-adulation, but to use my experience to demonstrate to our people that we can do certain things we thought are impossible, an example was that I returned schools to the church and provided them with over 30,000 computers, generators and Internet connectivity.
“The fact is that under our government, we cleared arrears of pension of over N35bn, paid for all the certificates generated by contractors without borrowing a kobo, but instead left money, including dollars for the state.”
Some political commentators say this might be connected with Peter Obi’s recent exposure of governments’ wasteful expenditure.
