The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in the House of Representatives has dismissed as a brazen falsehood and deliberate misinformation the claim by a former Edo State governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, that his security record in Edo State surpassed that of Peter Obi in Anambra State.
In a recent podcast interview, Oshiomhole alleged that Obi’s performance on security in Anambra was abysmal, arguing that the NDC presidential candidate is unfit to lead Nigeria out of the prevailing insecurity crisis.
But in a statement on Monday, leadership of the NDC caucus in the House, Hon. Afam Ogene, said Oshiomhole’s revisionist attempt to rewrite history is both laughable and insulting to Nigerians who know the facts.
Ogene insisted that the data on security under Obi’s tenure in Anambra remains public record, and no amount of political grandstanding can erase it.
“Oshiomhole has now officially joined the growing league of self-appointed press secretaries to President Tinubu. His trademark loquaciousness routinely puts him at odds with his own colleagues in the Senate, and he invariably ends up issuing humiliating apologies.
“In his latest desperate bid for ranking status among presidential attack dogs, Oshiomhole has again flown off tangent, mangling basic facts that even secondary school students know. What revisionist history would Oshiomhole teach Nigerian children when he cannot accurately situate even simple national events?
“For the record: the Bakassi Boys operated under the four-year administration of the late Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju. Yet, in his haste to smear Obi, Oshiomhole conveniently erased the three-year tenure of Dr Chris Ngige, who had served before Obi assumed office in 2006.
“Not done with his comedy of fallacies, Oshiomhole went further to claim that the demolition of kidnappers’ dens began under former Governor Obiano. False. That deterrence policy was introduced and executed by Obi.
“It is pitiable that a man who governed Edo State during Obi’s tenure would be so consumed by envy that he deliberately forgets basic facts. This is the same Oshiomhole who, while Obi was bringing civility and due process to governance in Anambra, was busy demolishing the houses of political opponents in Edo.
“Indeed, for a man who pioneered the current attempt at evolving a state police structure, through the recruitment, training, kitting, and provision of security vehicles to each of Anambra’s 177 communities, it is uncharitable for Senator Oshiomhole to begin now to promote a contrary narrative,” he said.
The NDC caucus leader added that, despite several security-related awards Obi received as governor, Oshiomhole’s desperate revisionism collapses under the weight of verifiable testimony.
“Philemon Leha, who served as Commissioner of Police in Anambra State during Mr Peter Obi’s tenure, has put the record straight: ‘as I undertook my assignment in the state, I was greatly encouraged by the commitment and determined focus of Governor Obi. Security was on his priority list, and he always offered us logistics and other support on a scale I had not witnessed elsewhere.’
“This is firsthand evidence from the man who ran security operations on the ground. While Oshiomhole peddles fallacies from a podcast chair, those who actually secured Anambra credit Obi’s leadership, logistics, and political will. Facts always triumph over propaganda.
“The unprovoked and coordinated attacks on Mr Peter Obi’s person and political aspiration, by hirelings across both the ruling party and the opposition, are unprecedented. They point to only one thing: Obi is the real issue in the conversation for the 2027 general elections,” Ogene added.
