The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu of giving a false account of his efforts to control erosion when he was governor of Anambra State.
Obi rejected Tinubu’s claim that he ignored erosion problems in the State, revealing that he worked with a former Minister of Environment to set up the programme now used to address the issue.
Obi spoke on Tuesday in an interview on Rhythm FM Jos, before the NDC town hall meeting in Plateau State, where he responded to Tinubu’s comments at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last weekend.
At the rally, the president claimed Obi had “ran away from erosion” and compared his record to environmental projects in Lagos.
Obi said he took a proposal to former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to address erosion in Anambra. He explained that Yar’Adua then told the Minister of Environment to develop the plan.
“What the president said while campaigning in Akwa Ibom is not true. I worked with the former minister of environment to develop what is being used today to fight erosion,” he said.
“I went to President Yar’Adua, made a suggestion to him. He called the minister and said he should go and develop it.”
Obi was governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, a period when many communities there struggled with severe erosion.
At the Uyo rally, Tinubu questioned Obi’s ability to lead the country, using the erosion problems in Anambra as proof of what he called Obi’s failures as governor.
Obi said he visited Plateau State to meet residents, learn about their challenges, and listen to their experiences before starting his campaign rallies.
He said political leaders need to understand the problems people face before offering plans and promises to solve them.
The NDC candidate also pointed out that insecurity in central Nigeria is a big issue. He said people should be able to return to their communities, farm, and run their businesses without fear of attacks.
He said that if elected, his government would focus on key public services, especially education, healthcare, and insurance support for vulnerable Nigerians.
“Unless children go to school without fear, unless parents go to farms without fear, we don’t have a country,” he said.
“You cannot stay in a developing country and a developing world if you have poor health accessibility and poor education accessibility. Education and health are the foundation for development. I will invest in them.”