Senate President Godswill Akpabio has fired back at former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, urging him to demonstrate true leadership by first addressing the internal conflicts plaguing his party.
Akpabio’s comments were in response to remarks made by Obi during a memorial lecture in Abuja in honour of elder statesman Edwin Clark.
Speaking at the event, Obi had lamented the state of the country, questioning whether the efforts of Nigeria’s founding heroes had yielded meaningful progress.
“I listened to my brother Mike when you talked about, ‘may the Labour of our heroes past not be in vain,’” Obi said.
“I’m happy that Jonathan is here. But I can tell you their sacrifice is in vain. They have sacrificed for nothing.”
“We were in this country when people were protesting, when there was no need to protest under Goodluck Jonathan. Where are those protesters? Have they died? Where are they?”
Akpabio, clearly disagreeing, used the Senate floor to deliver a sharp rebuttal, defending the legacy of Nigeria’s past leaders while calling Obi’s credibility into question.
“When somebody makes a statement that the Labour of our heroes past are in vein, I beg to disagree,” Akpabio declared.
“Let our brother, Peter Obi show leadership like Edwin Clark did by resolving first the crisis in the Labour Party.”
He continued, “For a man who wants to run Nigeria, you have one of the smallest parties in Nigeria, and you can’t even resolve the crisis, is it the crisis of Boko Haram that you will come and resolve in Nigeria?”
Akpabio highlighted his own accomplishments in governance, emphasizing unity and infrastructure development.
“I would like us to be known for what we did when we had the opportunities. As I speak now, I can tell you about the dualized thoroughfares in my state, I can tell you about the flyovers in my state, I can tell you the unity I brought to Nigeria by sponsoring over 5,800 Muslims to the holy land and 12 to 15,000 Christians to Rome.”
Turning to the issue of political discourse, he criticised how aspiring leaders use social media platforms.
“But then, those who are aspiring presidential candidates are trying to cause divisions with their mouth using the social media.”
“Tell them to resolve the small crisis in the smallest party in Nigeria before they come to talk about the larger Nigeria.”
On a reflective note, Akpabio concluded, “But for the Social Media, it’s unregulated and I wish you luck as you have a field day. I’m saying this because this is what Clark would have advised if he were alive, so I have started to speak his voice.”
