The protests by some youths for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to drop Mr peter Obi as its vice presidential candidate has been described as ‘suspicious and diversionary’.

Mr Valentine Obienyem, Media Aide to Obi said this in a statement in Awka on Wednesday.

Some youths under the aegis of “The Northern Youths Leaders Forum” met with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday and urged Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to reconsider the choice of Obi or risk losing their support.

Obienyem in response to a statement titled ‘RE: Northern group to Atiku: Drop Obi or forget 2019’ said it was a case of inventing problem where none existed.

The media aide said the announcement of Obi as Atiku’s running mate elicited widespread approval and jubilation because it was adjudged as the best by most Nigerians.

He described Obi as humble, hardworking, knowledgeable, detribalized Nigerian with in-depth knowledge about the economy and conversant with the myriad of problems of the country.

According to Obienyem, any person truthful to himself will agree that never in the history of Nigeria did naming of running mates elicit comparable reactions.

“One is, therefore at a loss as to the reasons informing the protest. Since leaving office, Obi has been busy visiting schools all over the country, from Cross River to Sokoto. Obi has been busy diagnosing the problems of the country and offering solutions”.

“Obi has been busy preaching the unity of the country and how good governance will solve the problems in Nigeria, caused by cumulative years of leadership failure that make the protest under review suspicious,” he said.

Obienyem wondered why such protest should hold in Ota and what the intentions of those behind it were.

He said they would not be distracted with such antics but remained focused on efforts to proffer solutions to national economic challenges.

“Why protest in Ota? Who is behind the protest? What does the project intend to achieve? Is it true that the planning of the protest was revealed almost a week ago?

“Why is it that when you have failed to see any fault in Obi, you are bent on inventing one?

“These are necessary questions which any sincere inquirer will deem appropriate to start with. We do not need such a distraction now, what we need is joining of hands together as we collectively seek solutions to our problems,” he said.

(NAN)