African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has criticised former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi over his record in office, saying Obi failed to adequately support education and other public services during his tenure.
Sowore made the remarks on Monday at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he also challenged former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi over their records in government.
Speaking during a discussion on fuel subsidy, Sowore argued that politicians seeking to lead Nigeria should account for their past performance rather than present themselves as solutions to problems they allegedly failed to address while in office.
He specifically questioned Obi’s record as governor of Anambra State, citing prolonged industrial actions involving lecturers and doctors.
“Who refused to subsidise your people? Peter Obi did not subsidise education in his state. Lecturers and doctors went on strike for 13 months,” Sowore said.
“You may like him as a president, but he did not perform as a governor.”
Sowore’s comments came as he criticised politicians who, according to him, had supported the removal of fuel subsidy and were now seeking to distance themselves from the consequences of the policy.
He maintained that he had consistently opposed subsidy removal, arguing that successive governments had repeatedly removed subsidies while promising Nigerians that the economy would improve.
Sowore also accused the political elite of benefiting from increased government revenues following the removal of the petrol subsidy while ordinary Nigerians continued to bear the economic burden.
“The question about subsidies is: Who are you subsidising? You are subsidising the elite. You are subsidising the government,” he said.
He further argued that the subsidy debate should not be separated from the country’s transportation system, saying Nigerians would have been better protected from the impact of rising fuel prices if successive governments had provided efficient and affordable public transportation.
Turning to Amaechi, Sowore criticised the former minister over railway projects executed during his tenure, arguing that the projects had failed to deliver the expected benefits to Nigerians.
He also cited Amaechi’s acknowledgment that many politicians seeking power had previously held public office without delivering the desired transformation.
Sowore said politicians who had previously governed should apologise to Nigerians rather than return to seek power without accounting for their records.
“There are no people coming back. You guys should be apologising to the Nigerian people,” he said.
The AAC candidate has repeatedly positioned himself as an alternative to Nigeria’s established political figures ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting that politicians who have previously occupied public offices should be judged by their records in government.
(The Whistler)