Yunusa Tanko, the Chief Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organization, has emphatically refuted claims suggesting that Peter Obi is utilising his deceased brother’s university certificate.
In a statement released in Abuja on October 16, 2023, Tanko dismissed these speculations as absurd, emphasizing that Peter Obi and his late brother pursued different courses at the University of Nigeria (UNN).
The allegation in question emerged from Abayomi Arabambi, the spokesperson of the Labour Party faction, who recently raised concerns about discrepancies in the academic credentials of the former Governor of Anambra State. Arabambi made these allegations during an appearance on an AIT program on October 12, 2023, shortly after Obi had called out President Bola Tinubu and urged him to reintroduce himself to Nigerians.
Arabambi’s claim centered on disparities between the name on Obi’s certificate from UNN and his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate. He contended that it was unjust for Obi to criticize Tinubu while having academic credential inconsistencies.
Reacting to these allegations, Yunusa Tanko pointed out that Arabambi was merely one of Tinubu’s hired individuals attempting to slander Obi with baseless fabrications. Tanko explained, “Obi, as the Labour Party standard bearer, had innocently advised the embattled President to put the certificate issue to rest and save the country from further embarrassment by reintroducing himself and clarifying his records. It was a simple patriotic suggestion rooted in the belief in anything contributing to national development.”
Tanko further stated, “But their hirelings, freebooters, and lawless adventurers prefer to insult our candidate with fabrications. In one of their fictitious claims, they alleged that Obi was impersonating his deceased elder brother, a ridiculous comedy. Obi’s oldest brother is very much alive. The senior brother who passed away had studied Computer Science at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, years before Obi and majored in Philosophy.”
Tanko described the LP factional leader, Lamidi Apapa, as “political hirelings and buccaneers engaged in the menial work of character assassination to tarnish the reputation of our Presidential candidate.” He asserted that Apapa and Arabambi were no longer affiliated with the Labour Party.
