I Had No Altercation With Obasanjo – Obi of Onitsha Counters Presidency

The Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Achebe has countered the presidency, saying there was no time he had an altercation with former Presiden Olusegun Obasanjo.

The monarch’s position was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Chinyelugo Anionwu, chief of staff to the Onitsha traditional council.

Recall that Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman in a statement on Monday criticised Obasanjo for criticising the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Shehu also said Obasanjo deceived the south-east during the flag-off for the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, adding that the Obi of Onitsha had some altercation with the former president.

“Obasanjo laid the sod for the bridge in his first term as elected President and work never started. When he sought re-election for his second term in office, he returned to the site to turn the sod for the bridge the second time.

“When the Obi of Onitsha, forthright and scholarly, reminded him that he had done this in the past, Obasanjo told the foremost Southeast traditional ruler that he was a liar, in the full presence of the Chiefs and Oracles in his palace,” Shehu stated.

However, in the statement on Tuesday, the Obi of Onitsha said he wasn’t involved in any sod-turning ceremony for the bridge during Obasanjo’s first tenure.

The statement read: “The attention of Ime Obi Onicha(The Palace) has been drawn to a State House Press Release of January 2, 2023 by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, titled “MORALLY SQUALID OBASANJO ATTACKS LEADERS OUT OF FRUSTRATION”.

“His Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe, CFR, mni, Obi of Onitsha, by his position as traditional and natural ruler, should normally not engage publicly in high level discourse on affairs of State between two of our highly respected national leaders, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR.

“However, the Palace deems it absolutely necessary to ensure that public statements relating to our monarch are factually correct. Accordingly, the Palace would like to state categorically that His Majesty was never involved in any sod turning ceremony for the second River Niger Bridge during the first tenure of President Obasanjo as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and, therefore, could not have engaged in any altercation with the then President as stated in the above press release.

“The only involvement of His Majesty with President Obasanjo regarding the Second River Niger Bridge was at the very tail end of his second term as President during a low-keyed flag-off of the project when His Majesty prayed that the succeeding administration would construct the bridge expeditiously.

“Onitsha people will continue to express their utmost gratitude to President Buhari and his Government for successfully constructing the magnificent bridge.

“This is solely a statement of facts and nothing more or less”.

Source: Diplomatic Diary