EDO SAFER UNDER MY WATCH THAN ANAMBRA UNDER OBI

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By: Muftau Fatimo

The former Governor of Edo State and Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has stated that security conditions in Edo State during his tenure were better than what was experienced in Anambra State under former Governor Peter Obi.

The All Progressives Congress chieftain also criticised opposition figures, including Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, for faulting President Bola Tinubu’s handling of insecurity without offering practical solutions to the problem.

Speaking on the *Mic On Podcast* with host Seun Okinbaloye, Oshiomhole argued that insecurity began during Atiku’s time as vice president, while also alleging that Obi did not adequately address security challenges, particularly those linked to the activities of the Bakassi Boys vigilante group.

In the video posted on Sunday, the lawmaker also challenged Obi’s credentials on security, arguing that the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate could not control the Bakassi Boys, whose activities reportedly escalated into widespread kidnapping and lawlessness in Anambra.

Go back to Anambra State and play back. What were the first major decisions that Governor Obiano took when he succeeded Peter Obi as governor?” Oshiomhole said.

He recalled visuals of Governor Willie Obiano using bulldozers to demolish properties linked to kidnappers and the Bakassi Boys, whom he said had “gotten out of control” under Obi.

Oshiomhole added, “Peter Obi could not fix security in Anambra State. It took the intervention of Governor Obiano, who took over from him, to begin to destroy the properties of those who he believed had used them for kidnapping… where wife kidnapped husband, husband kidnapped wife. It got to that level

“I was a governor then; my state was safer than Anambra.”

The former Edo governor questioned Obi’s ability to provide concrete solutions to national challenges, criticising what he described as vague rhetoric such as “do the right thing.”

“Everybody knows that things are not perfect, but a statesman must provide answers… We haven’t heard other than this buzzword, ‘do the right thing.’ What is the right thing? What is the left thing?” Oshiomhole asked.

He expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election, adding that Peter Obi would neither match nor surpass the votes he received in 2023.

Oshiomhole served as Edo State governor from 2008 to 2016, while Peter Obi governed Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.