Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has expressed his belief that Nigeria would have been in a better state had Labour Party candidate Peter Obi won the 2023 presidential election.
The former Senate Minority Leader who represents Abia South in the red chamber, criticized the current administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of nepotism.
He claimed such tendencies would not exist under an Obi presidency.
“If Peter Obi had won, you probably would have seen a better Nigeria than what we are seeing today,” Abaribe said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government. He won’t, it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”
The senator cited Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun State while other states have only one as an example of nepotism.
He argued that while nepotism existed during Buhari’s tenure, it has intensified under Tinubu because it was normalized under the previous administration.
Abaribe emphasized the need for the South-East to focus on developing its region rather than waiting for fairness from successive governments.
“Rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the South-East, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive,” he stated.
He noted that apart from former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, no administration had been equitable toward the South-East.
On the recent arrest of Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed Prime Minister of Biafra in exile, in Finland, Abaribe welcomed the development.
He stated that Ekpa’s arrest would serve as a signal to those in Nigeria being instigated into violence by the Finland-based agitator.
“The Igbo have always condemned what Ekpa and his ilk try to direct from foreign lands,” he remarked.
Abaribe also called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He argued that releasing Kanu would curb the violence in the South-East, as many using Kanu’s name to perpetrate unrest would lose their justification.
