Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, lauded Peter Obi for following his guts and becoming a force to reckon with.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former Senate President Pius Anyim has said he is proud of Peter Obi’s audacity to join the presidential race outside the two major political parties and still have a fair chance of being elected.
This is even as the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) insisted that he is still a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party and has no intention of doing otherwise.
Obi left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last year just before the party had its primaries. He joined the Labour Party and has come out tops in several polls as the favourite to be elected president.
Reacting to a front-page story in ThisDay Newspaper of Friday, February 17, 2023 with the caption, “HOW G5 GOVERNORS, OTHER PDP LEADERS STAND ON PRESIDENTIAL CHOICE”, Anyim lauded Obi for following his guts and becoming a force to reckon with.
Anyim said, “On the issue of His Excellency Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, I am to say that I was in the PDP Presidential Primaries with Peter Obi and others and at some point, all of us from South East met and resolved to work together, to ensure the zoning of the presidential position to South East and that whoever among us that got the ticket should be supported by the others.
“When the zoning failed, His Excellency Peter Obi pulled out and joined Labour Party while I continued to the end.
“To the credit of His Excellency Peter Obi, today, he has become a factor in the political equation of 2023 presidential election. I must state here and always that I am proud of His Excellency Peter Obi for doing what I could not do.
“For me, His Excellency Peter Obi winning or not should not be the issue but rather his ability to bring Labour Party from nowhere to a position of reckoning is a huge contribution to our political development. He has broken an age-long myth and should be seen as having immeasurably become a source of inspiration to the future generations of Nigerian politicians and indeed has taken his pride of place in the history of Nigerian politics.”
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Following his glowing remarks about Obi, Anyim noted that it is disheartening for people to make assumptions about who anybody is supporting.
“I am certain that I have at no time discussed with anybody about who will win and who will not win. That is the choice Nigerians will make. I have kept faith with my party and for the benefit of all, I am still a card-carrying member of the PDP. I am in a very healthy mental state to speak for myself at any time and so nobody should speak for me,” he said.
“At this juncture, let me state, and I know many Nigerians believe so, that at this point whomever God has destined to be the next president of Nigeria is already settled and no man can change it. It is, therefore, disheartening for people to make and impute assumptions on who anybody is supporting.”
Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, added that he was never a part of the G5 Governors and/or leaders.
He said, “I am sufficiently knowledgeable about the turn of events leading to and after the PDP Presidential primaries and have my own convictions why I should not, in any way, be part of the G5 Governors and Leaders.
“I want to state very clearly that after the Presidential Primaries, I chose to remain in PDP as a leader and responsible citizen of Nigeria, who should and indeed do place Nigeria over and above my personal interest. I must confess that this decision was reinforced by my experience from working with President Goodluck Jonathan. It may be necessary to state that since after the PDP Presidential Primaries, I have remained a faithful member of my party, the PDP and have no intention whatsoever to leave my party, more so as one of my campaign credits during the primaries was that I have remained in the party since 1999 even when many others had moved out and back to the PDP many times.
“Let me, for emphasis, state that the front-page story in Thisday Newspaper of 17th February, 2023 captioned ‘How G5 Governors, Other PDP Leaders stand on Presidential Choice….’ has absolutely nothing to do with me.”