Valentine Obienyem, the Media Assistant to the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate and former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, has refuted claims that his principal’s administration owed a contractor ₦36 million at the end of his term as governor in 2014.
OsunDailyNG understands that one Ikem Okeke of the Nri community in Peter Obi’s Anaocha local government area of the state had alleged that the Obi administration owed him ₦36m for a completed project as of the end of his tenure.
Reacting to the allegation in a press statement in Awka, Obienyem stated that Obi’s administration had sponsored Public Service Announcements in a few national dailies and other media outlets six months before the end of Obi’s administration, where it “urged contractors and suppliers with unpaid claims to come forward for resolution.”
He insisted that Okeke merely made the accusations in order to undermine the impressive record of Obi’s administration.
Speaking further, he asserted that the Anambra State Government, under Obi’s leadership, collaborated with more than 5,000 suppliers and contractors, and he said it was “interesting that only one individual has come up with such claims” of being owed ₦36m years later.
“The person behind this allegation is Chief Ikem Okeke from Nri. Notably, Chief Okeke’s mother served as commissioner for Education in Mr Obi’s government for several years.
“It is left for investigative journalists to unearth what he benefited in the ministry under his mother and against Obi’s policy that those in government should not award contracts to their sons and daughters.
“The baseless allegation of a debt of N36 million was known to the government. It was a contract that was duly settled, where the contractor was just trying to be clever and has gone to court and everywhere and yet lost out.
“These claims are not only unfounded but also represent a disingenuous attempt to tarnish Mr Obi’s reputation by an individual who now aligns with an opposing political camp.
“As Mr. Obi has always maintained, he is not a saint. However, his record in private, corporate, and public life remains unrivalled and exemplary,” he stated.
