Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress for the 2027 election, denied allegations that he made divisive remarks about northern Nigerians, saying he has a longstanding relationship with the region.
In an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, the former governor of Anambra State also rejected suggestions that his presidency would deepen national divisions.
He said he has consistently engaged in humanitarian interventions across the north. “That’s a lie. It never happened,” Obi said of the allegation of making a divisive statement against the north.
Obi recounted traveling to Borno State during the early days of the Boko Haram insurgency to console former Gov. Ali Modu Sheriff after his brother was killed. “When people didn’t want to go there, I went to Borno State,” he said.
He also visited Borno after severe flooding, donating 50 million naira, meeting the state governor and the Shehu of Borno, and visiting internally displaced persons camps.
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His humanitarian work has taken him to Katsina, Kebbi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto and Benue, which he visited four times. “I’ve spent Christmas and New Year in IDP camps,” he said.
Obi noted that during his eight years as governor, his aide-de-camp was a Muslim from Kano, and all his cooks were northerners.
His administration sponsored Muslim faithful in Anambra for the Hajj pilgrimage. “As governor, I was paying for Muslims living in Anambra to go to Hajj,” he said.
He also cited current support for Almajiri schools in Kano and Bauchi and a School of Nursing in Bauchi as evidence of his commitment to northern welfare and national unity.
