By Isaac Okoro
Abuja, Nigeria – Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has clarified his past engagement with the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, insisting it was strictly professional and unconnected to politics. Obi, addressing recent speculation, released documentary evidence on Wednesday via his official LinkedIn page to support his position.
Obi explained that his involvement stemmed from concerns raised by frustrated Nigerian traders and importers, including himself, over persistent delays in clearing goods at the nation’s ports. These delays, he noted, were significantly hampering businesses and the national economy.
“In consonance with my established principles of defending everything I am involved in, and in the interest of all men and women of goodwill, especially those committed to the pursuit of truth, I hereby attach the letter which documents my co-opting, along with others, into the Taskforce on the decongestion of the Ports,” Obi stated.
He further clarified, “As I stated during my interview at the weekend and consistently maintained in the past, I had never met General Sani Abacha before that encounter.”
According to Obi, the group approached the military leader not as political actors, but as concerned citizens seeking pragmatic solutions to a pressing economic issue. “Our meeting with him was borne out of collective concern as traders and importers over the prolonged delays in clearing goods at the ports,” he explained. “We approached him not as political actors, but as concerned citizens seeking pragmatic solutions to a matter affecting economic activity and livelihoods.”
Obi emphasized that the sole aim of the engagement was to improve operational efficiency at the ports, for the benefit of the business community and the overall national economy. To substantiate his claims, he released a letter confirming his appointment to the port decongestion task force, reiterating that his participation was a matter of civic duty.
“This clarification is offered in the interest of truth, to reaffirm that our actions were driven solely by a sense of civic duty and not political ambition,” Obi asserted.
While acknowledging that critics might continue to question his motives, Obi described them as “mischief makers with ulterior motives.” He maintained that placing the facts in the public domain was essential to uphold his transparency pledge to Nigerians.
“I don’t expect this copious evidence to bury this Abacha case because the mischief makers have ulterior motives, but it’s being placed in the public space for posterity and in line with my transparency pledge to Nigerians on any issue I am involved in,” he concluded.
