Cyril Mbah, Abuja and Cosmas Chukwu
The Peter Obi Media Office has criticised the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, for attacking the record of former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, while calling for answers over the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners in Niger State.
Alake, who is also spokesman of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, had accused Obi of having “nowhere to hide” over his alleged record in Anambra State, following fresh claims by the state government concerning financial liabilities incurred during Obi’s administration.
In a statement signed by its spokesman, Idris Zekeri Jnr, and issued on Monday, the Peter Obi Media Office described Alake’s intervention as a political distraction from the crisis in the solid minerals sector.
The statement questioned the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 37 suspected illegal miners who were arrested during an anti-illegal mining operation in Niger State and subsequently died while in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The Federal Government has already deployed a high-powered investigative team to Niger State to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Alake had said the team would investigate the incident and ascertain the facts.
The Obi media office, however, asked: “Who authorised the operation? What safeguards were in place? Who failed? And who will be held accountable?” Follow Federal Policy
It argued that the deaths required attention to safety, regulation and accountability in the mining sector rather than political exchanges over the records of a former state governor.
“For us in Peter Obi Media, there is a tragic irony in watching high-ranking public officials prioritise political posturing over executive accountability,” the statement said.
The office accused Alake of being more interested in “political distractions” than addressing what it described as failures in the solid minerals sector. Hire Grant Writers
It also called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts to end illegal and unregulated mining activities, particularly those exposing young Nigerians to dangerous working conditions.
The statement said: “Nigerian youths deserve a solid minerals sector built on safety, regulation, and sustainable development—not an executive office that chases political shadows while tragedy unfolds on its watch.”
The circumstances and cause of the 37 deaths remain under investigation. Reports have cited a suspected disease outbreak, while Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has said investigators must determine the cause, noting that some bodies reportedly showed signs that could point to poisoning or suffocation. Read Political News
The Obi Media Office further criticised the APC administration over what it described as failures across sectors, while maintaining that federal officials should first account for their responsibilities before engaging in attacks over state-level governance records.
Earlier, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has attacked the record of Mr. Peter Obi as Governor of Anambra State, saying his acclaimed fiscal prudence has emerged as a well-packaged lie concocted to hoodwink the public.
APC-PCC spokesman Dr. Dele Alake said in a statement on Monday that, over the past four years, Obi and his supporters have packaged his tenure as one defined by exceptional prudence, including the claim that he left Anambra without debt.
But the facade, according to the APC Campaign Council, has now been torn to shreds after disclosures by the Anambra State Government, which responded to Obi’s challenge to verify his record.
The Council quoted the Anambra State Government as revealing that Obi spent about USD 4.05 billion, or N5.4 trillion, over his eight years in office and contracted USD 123.77 million in external loans.
It said the state also revealed that as at when Obi left office on March 17, 2014, there were eight different external borrowings for malaria, erosion control, education and healthcare, which subsequent administrations, including Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s government, continued to service.
The APC Campaign Council said borrowing is not injudicious if used for development, but for a man who prides himself on being austere and claims he left the state with a clean bill of health, the revelations confirmed that Obi is unfit for leadership at the highest levels.
It further alleged that despite the borrowings, Obi has nothing to show for his stewardship and failed to pay workers’ salaries in some ministries, including Water Corporation staff who protested.
The Council cited a memo dated April 25, 2006, from Obi’s Chief of Staff, Chuks Ileogbunam, pleading with the governor to pay Water Corporation workers a backlog of N15 million in monthly salaries to avoid protests at the Governor’s office.
According to the statement, Obi had promised during his campaign that he would resign as governor if workers were not paid as at when due, and similarly promised to quit the 2027 presidential race if it was proven he left debts for Anambra State.
The APC Campaign advised Obi to purge himself of his lies and seek forgiveness of Anambra people instead of parroting inanities, and questioned his recent solidarity visit to someone facing EFCC trial.
It concluded that if Obi has any honour, he must resign from the 2027 presidential race forthwith, in keeping with his promise to end his campaign if liabilities were proven.
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