Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023i election, has denied encouraging members of the Obidient movement to attack leaders within the opposition coalition.
The former Anambra governor spoke during an interaction at the movement’s secretariat on Tuesday.
Obi said verbal assaults allegedly carried out in his name contradict his personal values and political conduct.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain said he maintains warm relationships with prominent figures in the coalition and would never support verbal abuse directed at them.
He urged members of the ADC to treat one another with dignity, stressing that insults and name-calling have no place in their politics.
“Let me tell you hear, most of the things you hear, criminals that are not Obidient people. You don’t see anybody calling the other a bad name. We are not asking for division, I personally do not in any way, you have never seen me call anybody a bad name,” Obi said.
“We are in the ADC and respect everybody there. But as for calling people bad names, we are not in support of it. I don’t subscribe to it and I am not part of it.
“The people I met there, down to the party chairman, are my elder brothers. People like Atiku are my leader and a very respected elder brother. Amaechi is my brother, and we are very close.
“So also is El-Rufai. Name them, all the people who are there—Liyel Limoke, Oyegun, Aregbesola. These are my colleagues. So how do I say anything bad about them?.”
Obi assured his supporters that he does not encourage attacks on fellow opposition leaders, accusing some individuals of attempting to tarnish his image.
“Those who are following me, I assure you, will not say anything bad about them. But some elements are trying to do that to hurt the Peter Obi brand,” he said.
“That is not what we should be doing in politics. Let us talk about out-of-school children, hungry and unemployed Nigerians, insecurity, and how random abduction of people—where about 150 worshippers are being kidnapped in churches and mosques—is occurring. That should be our pre-occupation.”
His remarks come amid reports of internal strains within the ADC linked to his presidential ambition after joining the party.