‘Plan to assassinate Obi’: What does Keyamo know? Obi’s aide, Nigerians ask

Barely 24 hours after gun-toting assassins attacked the convoy of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in Anambra State, killing five police officers and another aide, the official spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, has alleged that the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, was planning to stage-manage an assassination attempt on himself.

Keyamo, who made the claim in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday alleged that Obi planned to fake his own assassination attempt with hired supporters dressed in the APC caps and T-shirts to attack some of his party secretariats.

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment also accused Obi of circulating a hate-filled video online to denigrate the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

But Obi’s media aide, Emeka Obasi, described the allegation as fallacious, saying he was surprised such was coming from Keyamo.

He said, “It is a fallacy! You, media people, should also know when you see something fallacious. Does Peter look like someone who pretends or fakes things? What do we gain to start faking assassination attempt? Are they in any way trying to carry out such an attempt and seeking to blame Obi for it? The public deserves to know and that’s why we should put it up in the press. 

“Does Keyamo know more than we know and just use this opportunity to cry wolf? What is his plan for uttering this kind of stupid statement? Does he think Obi is part of the Old Order who are always desperate for power? Whenever he says, ‘Go and verify’, does it look like scheming? 

“But we are aware of what Keyamo has done before. It is not out of place for him to say things like Obi is attempting to fake his assassination attempt? It is a terrible thing to say.”

READ: Five police officers killed as Ifeanyi Ubah survives assassination attempt

Keyamo had in his statement alleged: “Our attention has been drawn to an offensive, hate-filled video made and circulated by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, in which he accused an amorphous and non-existent ‘Tinubu’s Group’ of spreading a WhatsApp message calling on the Yoruba people not to vote for him. The purported message, according to Mr. Obi, forewarned the Yoruba that a vote for Obi would be a vote for a seaport in South-South and South-East. 

“We are also aware that plans are afoot by Mr. Peter Obi to fake an assassination attempt on himself and hire Labour Party boys dressed in the APC caps and T-shirts to attack some Labour Party offices. It is all part of the ‘US Plan’. It is the first in a series of incendiary actions planned by this ill-prepared but desperate candidate.

“Firstly, we vehemently deny the existence of any of such ‘Tinubu group’ that made and circulated such a message. All groups supporting the APC presidential candidate and his running-mate have clear designations with well-known promoters. In addition, it is only messages released by the APC Presidential Campaign Council that are officially authorised and for which we take responsibility.

“We have it on good authority that part of the ‘US Strategy’ (just like the failed ‘Dubai Strategy’ his former boss and himself adopted in 2019) was to return to the country and spread ethnic hatred amongst the voters and cause chaos, then pose as the victim. They have just begun that plot by orchestrating and circulating the said video.

“We find it utterly disgusting, demeaning and insulting to the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerians for a presidential candidate of the ilk of Peter Obi to make such a video parroting a spurious, unverified and sham message that has the potential of deepening our fault lines as a nation and further promoting ethnic tensions. This is completely unbecoming of a presidential candidate that hopes to unite this country. 

Keyamo’s outburst against the Labour Party candidate, who has become a formidable opponent and rallying point for a huge number of Nigerian youths and all those opposed to the status quo as represented by both the APC and PDP, however, received a backlash from some members of the public.

“If Nigeria was a country, a threat to a political leader of Peter Obi’s standing should be so serious that Keyamo, who happens to be a lawyer would be invited to shed light on his reasoning for such a threat. Does he have information that the country needs to know? What is his reason for floating such a threat?” a contributor responded to the Keyamo’s statement.

Another simply said: “If anything happens to Peter Obi, we will hold you Festus Kayamo responsible. Be warned.”