The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) against intimidating the Labour Party (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, his family or associates.
Tanko, while responding to the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, over the alleged threat to his principal, said such an issue should not be allowed to go unaddressed.
In an interview with Punch, the LP chieftain warned against any attempt to arrest Peter Obi, stating that it would boomerang on President Bola Tinubu’s government.
The former spokesman of the Obi presidential campaign council also called on security agents not to allow the APC spokesman’s threat to slide without proper investigation.
According to him, the Obidient Movement will not be cowed into silence, adding that the APC should call their mouthpiece to order and avoid anything that can heat the polity.
He said, “That is a threat. If they make the move (to arrest Obi), it will boomerang on their government. In a democratic setting, Obi did not in any way impugn anybody’s integrity, nor did he cross any line. We are not making any false allegations.
“But if they threaten anybody with some level of impunity, believe me, the Nigerian people will react negatively to them. They must learn to accept it. If they have a counter-allegation to the issues we are raising, they should be provided with facts.
“Obi only spoke to the issue that concerns every Nigerian, which he has a right to. So, what this simply means is that what we have been accusing them of, gagging, arresting and then maiming people to the level of intimidation and impunity, is what they are planning to administer on Nigerians starting from this January just because people have spoken against bad governance.
“We stand firmly with Peter Obi and his vision for a just, equitable and prosperous Nigeria. We call on Nigerians to resist this slide into authoritarianism by continuing to demand accountability, justice and the protection of democratic values. Finally, we urge the security services to not sweep such threats under the carpet as they had done in previous times but engage Mr Morka to elucidate on his utterance.
“Furthermore, the ruling party called to order their mouthpiece and members at large to desist from actions that could heat up the polity. In addition, the government of the day should foster an environment of noble ideas to shape our national discourse and not threats. They must be seen to be tolerant of criticism.
“The level of impunity and attack they put on the previous government of the PDP was worse than this and they are getting less of that criticism in their own government. So, criticising them is a way of uplifting the standards of our democracy. We Nigerians have the right as covered under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to speak to issues.”
