Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has categorically denied ever working for the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, or any government before his entry into politics.
Obi spoke during an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Sunday Politics’ programme in which he addressed long-standing rumours regarding his alleged links to Nigeria’s past military regimes.
Obi stated that his background was rooted entirely in private enterprise and commerce before he ventured into public office, noting that his first-ever government role was as an elected governor of Anambra State.
“I have never worked for any government before I became governor,” Obi said. “I was a very successful businessman. I was part of those controlling trade in Lagos.”
Obi recounted an incident during the Abacha era that may have been misconstrued as a link to military government. According to him, during the mid-1990s, Nigeria’s ports were severely congested due to import restrictions following the international backlash against the Abacha regime. This situation threatened the survival of many legitimate importers.
“When Abacha took over, they blocked the port, and goods were not coming in. We came to Abuja, about 50 of us. We were able to elucidate the problem we were facing,” Obi explained.
He said the meeting with government officials at the time was purely business-driven and resulted from pressure from private stakeholders seeking solutions to the port gridlock. He added that the intervention led to a presidential directive for the finance minister to decongest the ports immediately.
“The president directed the finance minister to decongest all the ports in Nigeria. When they finished after two weeks, they said it’s not the time to probe the ports,” he recalled.
Obi emphasised that the meeting was not an endorsement of the military regime at the time, nor did it constitute working for the government.
“I have never met Abacha, and I don’t know anything about the military,” Peter Obi affirmed.
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