Peter Obi Sparks Reactions After Saying Late President Yar’Adua Is Still Alive During Interview
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has stirred reactions after appearing to mistakenly suggest that Nigeria’s late former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is still alive during a recent television interview.
The remark was made while Obi reflected on how his administration tackled insecurity and kidnapping during his tenure as governor of Anambra State in an interview monitored by PulseNets on Afia TV.
Speaking on the security situation in Anambra at the time, Obi recounted efforts by his government to dismantle criminal hideouts located in forests across the state. While making the explanation, he appeared to confuse former President Olusegun Obasanjo with the late President Yar’Adua.
According to Obi, kidnapping was once a serious threat in parts of Anambra, but his administration took firm steps to eliminate criminal camps operating within forest areas.
“They tell you that somebody kidnapped somebody in Anambra, in Enugu. He went to the bush. Which bush? Go to Onisha and see where they call Akpaka Forest. That was where I had a problem in Onitsha. It’s the best safe state now when I became governor. Obasanjo is still alive. Yar’Adua is still alive,” Obi said.
The former Anambra governor further explained that he approached then President Olusegun Obasanjo for support in clearing the notorious forest used by criminal gangs.
“I went to Obasanjo. I said, ‘Listen, sir. There’s a forest here that is giving me a problem, and I want everybody in that forest to leave.’ I got all of them out of that forest in Anambra State. I cannot have that forest still in Anambra State,” he added.
Obi also maintained that his administration turned Anambra into what he described as a “burial ground” for notorious kidnappers and armed criminals. He cited individuals including Osisikankwu, Ugwuekeleonwu and OfeAkwu as examples of criminal figures his government confronted.
During the interview, Obi criticised President Bola Tinubu’s response to insecurity, particularly referencing the abduction of schoolchildren in Oyo State. He argued that the Federal Government ought to respond more swiftly to such incidents and questioned why arrested criminal suspects are rarely publicly displayed.
“For 50 days the President did not call the Oyo Governor. Me? I will be there in two days. Is the bush not in Nigeria? Everybody in that bush will come out. Everybody! And it’s time to start parading the people they arrest, why are they always hiding them?” Obi said.
The interview comes only days after the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, publicly dismissed Obi’s prospects ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Keyamo expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would secure victory over both Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“I’m looking around. Between you and me, where will Obi’s votes come from? I can’t see it,” Keyamo said.
The minister also described the anticipated 2027 presidential race as “a coronation, not an election,” insisting that his projection was based on what he termed demographic calculations.
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In the same interview, Keyamo renewed his criticism of Obi over allegations that he was harassed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. According to the minister, CCTV footage showed that airport officials merely enforced existing parking regulations, rejecting claims that Obi was singled out because of his opposition status.
“Then I saw the man was lying. He lies like a fish drinking water. He lies. He lies for fun,” Keyamo said.
PulseNets learnt that Keyamo had earlier challenged Obi to apologise to airport personnel and pay a ₦25,000 parking fine, warning that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) could take additional steps if the matter remained unresolved.
