Mr Christian Aburime, the Chief Press Secretary to the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has explained why the governor cannot retract his statement on Peter Obi.
He further appealed to the youths not to allow themselves to be used as a tool of distraction to the government.
Giving the advice in Awka on Tuesday, he charged them to be the solution to the existing problems in the society, rather than complicating them.
Aburime was reacting to the alleged plot by a group of youths, identified as Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), to dump wastes at the gate of Anambra State Government House on Friday, November 25, as a way to ‘punish’ Soludo over his recent comment on the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.
Soludo had said Obi will fail in his quest to become Nigeria’s next president.
According to the governor, Ndigbo are not yet ripe or well prepared in the political dynamics of Nigeria to win the presidential seat in the country.
But the Southeast-based group in a press release on Sunday, November 20, 2022 by its President, Mr Goodluck Ibem, threatened Governor Soludo to retract the said utterances he made on Obi before Friday this week, or expect heaps of thrash at the gate of Anambra State Government House on Friday, November 25.
The group said that dumping of the thrash at the Government House will serve as deterrent to other Igbo political office holders who might want to insult the sensibility of the Igbo nation.
In his reaction, Aburime reminded the youths that they are both the leaders of today and tomorrow, and wondered why they should allow themselves to be used as a tool of distraction by some politicians or individuals who have no good intentions for them, than just to use them to achieve their mischievous aims and dump them thereafter.
He reeled out some of the programs and the vision Governor Soludo has for the youths, some of which, he said, he had already begun to unleash, to make lives better and meaningful for them and the generation to come.
He said: “Instead of threatening to come and dump refuse at the Government House, the youths should rally round and support the government of Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, because his administration is actually working for the betterment of their lives, to see that both the youths of this present generation and the generation to come will have something that can make life more meaningful for them.
“Aside giving the youths various key positions in his administration, Soludo’s government is also currently training and empowering thousands of youths across the state in different vocational skills. It is a good indication that youth empowerment is part of the major focus of his administration.”
While advising the youths to think twice and not allow themselves to be used against the same government that has their interest and well-being at heart, he described the threat by the youths as a sponsored charade by political enemies and mischief makers who want to distract or derail the Soludo Administration and the progress it is making in the state.
The Press Secretary stressed that Soludo’s government is focused on delivering the dividends of democracy to Ndị Anambra and will not be distracted by any form of verbal attack, threat or such sponsored charade as this; noting that he is working round the clock to make life better for the people.
On whether Governor Soludo is planning to withdraw the said comment he made on Obi, Aburime said the Governor won’t do such.
He reminded the public that Nigeria is a democratic setting where the constitution guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of expression, which Governor Soludo is also entitled to, and therefore deserves no such threat or attack for expressing his constitutional rights.
The PS further said that Obi has vindicated Soludo by confirming that what he said about the value of his investment in the state during his tenure as a Governor of the state is correct; adding that the said comment is also verifiable.
“Soludo will never retract any statement, and he has no regret about what he said, because he has actually expressed his own opinion which is his constitutional rights, and has said nothing but the truth; and you know they say the truth is always bitter.
“Again, I want to make it clear that Peter Obi has not disagreed with what Soludo said about his investment in Anambra State as a Governor. He has also confirmed that the value of the investment has gone down, as Soludo said. And these are all verifiable. So, to that end, I don’t see the reason people should be attacking Soludo or plotting this or that against him or his government,” he said.
On the relationship status of the two brothers, Aburime simply said: “As long as I know, there is no issue between Governor Soludo and Peter Obi. So I wonder why people disturb themselves and go about shouting in the media, over-reacting and issuing one threat or the other over a non-existent issue they created. These are totally uncalled for; and the people indulging in such should have a rethink.”