Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate for the Labour Party, has explained his previous interactions with the late General Sani Abacha.
Obi maintained that it had nothing to do with politics and was entirely professional.
In a message published on his official LinkedIn profile on Wednesday, he revealed this.
In response to current rumours regarding his previous interactions with Abacha, Obi provided documentation to back up his claims.
He stated, “In consonance with my established principles of defending everything I am involved in, and in the interest of all men and women of goodwill, especially those committed to the pursuit of truth, I hereby attach the letter which documents my co-opting, along with others, into the Taskforce on the decongestion of the Ports.
“As I stated during my interview at the weekend and consistently maintained in the past, I had never met General Sani Abacha before that encounter.”
He noted that the group approached the military leader out of frustration with the persistent delays in clearing goods at Nigerian ports.
He explained, “Our meeting with him was borne out of collective concern as traders and importers over the prolonged delays in clearing goods at the ports.
“We approached him not as political actors, but as concerned citizens seeking pragmatic solutions to a matter affecting economic activity and livelihoods.”
He stressed that the engagement’s only goal was to increase port operating efficiency for the benefit of the nation’s economy and business sector.
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In support of his assertions, Obi published a letter attesting to his nomination to the port decongestion task team and restating that his involvement was motivated by civic responsibility rather than political aspirations.
In the sake of truth, Obi said, “this clarification is offered to reaffirm that our actions were driven solely by a sense of civic duty and not political ambition.”
While acknowledging that critics might still question his motives, Obi described them as “mischief makers with ulterior motives,” adding that putting the facts in the public domain was necessary to maintain transparency.
“I don’t expect this copious evidence to bury this Abacha case because the mischief makers have ulterior motives, but it’s being placed in the public space for posterity and in line with my transparency pledge to Nigerians on any issue I am involved in,” he stated.
