Certificate Discrepancies: Peter Obi Did Not Impersonate Late Brother – LP Spokesman

The Labour Party has said its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi did not impersonate his late elder brother.

According to the spokesman of the party, Yunusa Tanko, the allegation is false as Obi has challenged President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to come clean on his biodata, especially his real name, the school he attended and other facts that are generating controversies.

The controversy following Tinubu’s academic records had prompted Oseloka Obaze, a chieftain of the Labour Party to post some of the academic certificates of Obi to mock the president.

Some of the certificates posted were Obi’s West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), University of Nigeria (UNN) and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificates.

It was observed that while the WAEC certificate had the name ‘Obi Gregory Onwubuasi’, his UNN certificate carried ‘Gregory Peter Onwubuasi Obi’, and the NYSC certificate had ‘Obi, Gregory Peter Onwubuasi’.

The omission of ‘Peter’, which the former Anambra State Governor frequently uses and is known for generated serious conversation on X, formerly Twitter.

The accusation that the former Vice Presidential running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 2019, impersonated his brother received added twist when Abayomi Arabambi, spokesperson of the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the Labour Party alleged that Obi indeed had different names on his UNN and NYSC.

While speaking on television in the past week, Arabambi accused Obi of impersonating his elder brother and that there was no time to properly screen the former Anambra State Governor when he appeared before the committee of the party ahead of the 2023 elections.

Tanko however in a statement said, “Obi in his capacity as Labour Party standard bearer had innocuously advised the embattled President to rest the certificate-gate around him and save the country further embarrassment by reintroducing himself and putting the records straight.

“A simple patriotic advisory that was informed by a belief in anything that is connected to national development, but their hirelings, freebooters and lawless adventurers prefer to insult our candidate with fabrications.

“In one of his pieces of fiction, they claimed that Obi was impersonating his dead senior brother; a farce, slapstick comedy from hell. Obi’s most senior brother is alive,” he said.

He clarified that, “One of his senior brothers who died was in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN years ahead of Obi and read Computer Science while Obi read Philosophy.

“At the forefront of these malicious hatchet jobbers, is Dr Abayomi Arambabi, who dubiously continues even to identify himself as a member and Publicity Secretary of Labour Party.”

Tanko noted that, “Chief Lamidi Apapa and Arabambi have been going about merchandising with the name of the party and endlessly castigating our flag bearer who we are proud to say is the most popular and loved Nigerian politician today,” Tanko said.

“As they go about using the name of the party, none has said anything positive about Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of the party they claim. That speaks volumes.

“Instead, they have even been more vociferous against Peter Obi than their sponsors, yet they claim they are of the Labour Party.

“Is it not time the media houses blacklist them for wearing the devil’s coat and speaking on the saint’s platform. After all, none of them or their family members voted for Peter Obi,” he said.