Peter Obi
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has played down calls for his son to outdo Seyi Tinubu, son of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, in organising a successful rally.
Minister of State for Labour and Employment Festus Keyamo, who is also the spokesman of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, had made the comments after Seyi held a rally last week in Lagos for his father.
In a statement released on Tuesday by the Obi-Datti Media Campaign Office, the Labour Party presidential candidate said he and Tinubu share more differences than similarities as the latter has continued to feed on public funds years after exiting the government house.
Obi said the focus must be on those seeking elective positions, not members of their families.
The statement read, “The attention of the Obi-Datti Media Campaign office has been drawn to a challenge thrown to the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi by one of the opponent’s attack dogs, the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo for his son to organize a successful campaign rally in his state Anambra akin to what APC flag bearer’s son Seyi Tinubu did for his Dad in Lagos.
“But the attack dog forgot to differentiate the two sons, and their fathers. The only thing that joins Obi and Tinubu is that they were once governors of states in Nigeria. After that one became a parasite to the state government he served with his entire family while the other left government house and he and any members of his family never collected a dime from Anambra state. This assertion is verifiable for Keyamo and his other hirelings.
“Unlike Tinubu and his household who have grown to be stupendously wealthy with no identifiable industry or means of making money outside the state government for over two decades, Obi has moved on with his private businesses.
“If Keyamo had taken time to study the family he speaks for very well he would have avoided this comparison that is bound to expose the parasitic life of his principal and understand why the entire household is headlong in the campaign.
“The other time, it was Tinubu’s wife, Senator Remi that was threatening fire and brimstone over Lagos, then the daughter and now the son is showing off with rally. Do you blame a people struggling to keep a family business? The Tinubu family has cornered the commonwealth of Lagos state which they now run as a family enterprise.
“Obi’s family is not part of his politics. They are running their lives, contributing to development without nearing public funds.”
The campaign office also condemned the use of an aircraft in the Nigerian Air Force fleet to airlift Tinubu’s wife and wives of APC governors to campaign spots.
“Obi-Datti Media office also noticed that Tinubu’s wife and some parasitic First Ladies took government airplane to campaign spots because they can hardly exist without government patronage.
“The LP Candidate, Peter Obi is the man seeking the mandate of the Nigerian people to serve them as President not any other member of his family. He has said it repeatedly that Nigerians must reject anybody desiring to be President by proxy.
“We therefore join our candidate to demand that candidates, not their wives, sons or daughters are seeking for the peoples votes and they should be scrutinised by the people.
“It’s dangerous and discomforting when we cannot differentiate public funds from family and private funds and a serving Minister of the Republic is defending and celebrating it.
“But that is exactly what Nigerian youths through the Obidient Movement are out to halt through their take back Nigeria mantra,” the statement added.
