President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has taken a swipe at former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, urging him to put his political house in order before making disparaging remarks about Nigeria’s past leaders.
Akpabio made the statement during a valedictory session in honour of the late leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Edwin Clark, on Thursday.
The Senate President was reacting to a recent comment by Obi at a public event, where the former Anambra State governor allegedly said that the efforts of Nigeria’s past leaders were in vain.
“Those who are aspiring as presidential candidates to cause division with their mouths using the social media, tell them to resolve the small party crisis they have before they come to talk about the larger Nigeria,” Akpabio said pointedly.
“I am saying this because I understand that just yesterday, one of the presidential aspirants, Peter Obi, said that the labours of our leaders who have passed on were in vain. They were not in vain. The mere fact that Nigeria is still standing together shows clearly that their labours were not in vain.”
He defended the legacies of Nigeria’s founding fathers, stressing that the continued unity of the nation is proof of their enduring contributions.
“Very few countries with the size of Nigeria are still together; today, many have been fragmented. Edwin Clark lived through the days of the USSR. Nigeria, in spite of our difficulties, God has kept us together because of the voices of people like Pa Edwin Clark. So clearly, his labour and labours were not in vain.”
Akpabio also criticised the role of social media in shaping narratives, accusing users of distorting historical truths.
“Nigeria has an unregulated social media system so let them wallow in it and then take this situation and propagate all sorts of falsehood and all sorts of narratives. Some of them on social media were not even born when Pa Clark was very active in service and so they couldn’t have known some of the things he did that we are remembering today.”
“And yet when somebody makes a statement that the labour of our past leaders are in vain, I beg to disagree,” he stated.
He concluded by challenging Obi to show leadership by resolving the internal crisis within the Labour Party before aspiring to national leadership.
“He has one of the the smallest parties in Nigeria and you cannot even resolve the crisis in that Labour Party,” Akpabio said.
