Posted by According to a group called Diasporans for Good Governance (DGG), Mr. Peter Obi’s push to turn Nigeria from a consuming to a producing country is disturbing a lot of people.
The group claimed that those who are part of the “old order,” who have benefited from the country’s consumer culture, are unhappy with Obi and will stop at nothing to prevent him from becoming president.
Conveners of the group, including Sir Johnny Obika, Dr. Ben Opara, Barr. Franklin Nwakor, Mike Okaka, and Amb. Camillus Konkwo, named Prince Arthur Eze, an oil tycoon and well-known philanthropist, as one of individuals opposed to the effort to transform Nigeria in a news release they jointly signed.
The organisation reprimanded Eze for his remarks urging Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi to give up his bid for office.
“We knew that those who profit from Nigeria’s broken rentier system would battle hard to maintain the current quo when Peter Obi started talking about moving Nigeria from consumption to production.
“Arthur Eze’s persistent backing of the PDP and APC only serves to highlight his affiliation with the political conspiracy.
“However, the populace has decided to control their own fate. Peter Obi, who stands for the new order and the light that will lead them out of darkness, is the center of attention for this reason. Agents of darkness will logically complain about the reign of light.
“His (Eze’s) most recent assault on Obi is merely an effort to maintain the stranglehold over Nigeria, which they have transformed into the world’s capital of poverty,” said Eze.
The group claimed that while Eze, as a private citizen, had the freedom to back anybody he chose, he lacked the authority to call for Obi’s withdrawal from the race or even to persuade others not to do so.
Eze said in a speech on December 24 at the palace of Igwe Robert Eze, the traditional head of the Ukpo kingdom, that he had advised Obi to abandon his dreams of becoming the president of Nigeria during a private visit.
The Chairman of Oranto Group has also received harsh criticism for his comments, with many branding him as irrelevant in politics given that he has never been able to produce a governor in his home State, let alone the president of Nigeria.