Nigerian journalist Reuben Abati has proposed a potential career change for Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP). Abati’s suggestion came as a reaction to Obi’s recent call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address concerns over his educational and identity records.
Obi’s press conference in Abuja raised questions about Tinubu’s educational background and whether he participated in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. Additionally, Obi urged Tinubu to clarify whether he had ever changed his name, claiming that it was causing an “international embarrassment of identity crisis.”
During an appearance on Arise TV’s “The Morning Show,” Reuben Abati expressed his perspective on the matter, stating, “When I saw the press conference by Mr. Peter Obi yesterday (Wednesday), I thought it was needless and as if he was actually considering a career in evangelism.”
Abati continued, “This is because there are many people who have transitioned from other careers into evangelism. However, within the framework of the electoral process, what Obi did yesterday, in my view, was merely seeking media attention and publicity.”
Abati emphasized that grievances within the electoral process should be addressed through legal means, suggesting that taking the matter to court would be the appropriate course of action. He cited the example of former presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, who pursued his concerns through the legal system.
“The last time Atiku had a press conference, he came out and said that he wanted the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Obi to join him,” Abati noted. “The Labour Party released a statement and said that they were not part of it. Is it that the Labour Party has now changed its mind? The only appropriate forum that Obi can adopt is to go to court.”
In response to Obi’s allegations and call for transparency, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja asserted that President Tinubu did not have an identity problem and did not require reintroduction.
The APC spokesperson, Felix Morka, contended, “President Tinubu does not need a reintroduction because he does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi. Obi only etched a script authored by Atiku at his news conference.”
