Obi is Most Committed to his Work – Aide

The Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Peter Obi on Media and Publicity, Mr. Valentine Obienyem said that the preoccupation of his boss was to sustain the development of Anambra State. This, he explained, is the reason why the Governor is working simultaneously on all sectors and has refused to be distracted by the antics of those who believe that governance is all about playing politics with the lives of the people

In a statement made available to the press yesterday, Obienyem particularly condemned the statement credited to the Special Assistant on Media to the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, stating that the All Progressive Congress (APC) would win Anambra State in 2014. His words: “I am pretty sure that the statement is another case of an overzealous aide saying things his boss would not have sanctioned if he saw it, which he probably might have rebuked him for as that is exactly what Obi would have done if his aide issued such a reckless statement. It is reckless, unguarded and would have ended up sowing seeds of discord were it directed to a person not as accommodating, understanding, mature and humble as Obi.”

Obienyem wondered what Uzoukwa meant by Obi being an APGA-PDP. He said that right from the formation of APGA, that Obi has remained its backbone in terms of support, financially or otherwise and that if the aide knew that it was Obi who encouraged Owelle Rochas to enter APGA, that he would realize that both Governors should remain brothers which they are rather than make statements that defy rationality. He maintained that consistent with his known character laced with integrity, that his boss , as he himself, has always said, would remain in APGA and would not, like some politicians do, jump from one party to the other.

Obienyem said that from Uzoukwa's statement, it was obvious they call Obi APGA-PDP, because the President had taken him into confidence by appointing him his Special Adviser on Finance and into many Committees. He reminded him that the appointments were not because of politics but because the President saw in Obi a qualified man to assist him, like many other Nigerians, in the task of building a better country. “If not for the limitations of our people, that the President of a country has taken one of their own into confidence should be a thing to be celebrated. Rather, even his own people view it with jealousy, envy and wickedness that defy understanding,” Obienyem said.

Recalling the sitting incident that took place at Enugu, where aides to both Governors tried to mess them up because of a non-issue, he called on aides to both Governors to help them positively rather than getting them caught in controversies that are uncalled for.