ABUJA: Claims by the immediate-past governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, that he ran a very lean administration and consequently left billions for his successor, Willie Obiano have been faulted by one of the aides of the ex-governor, Benji Obi, saying his former boss was far from the truth.

Peter Obi

The former Special Assistant on inter-party Affairs to Chief Peter Obi, who spoke during a telephone chat with journalists in Abuja queried his former boss on the use of public funds for private functions. “Who built the first Helipad at the Government House in Anambra for his personal use?

“Peter Obi used helicopters to travel often while he was the governor, and he usually travelled alone or with one trusted aide. It was not a secret within the administrative circles in Awka. When he went to the burial of his wife’s sister, he flew in a helicopter. He took off from the Government House”, he said.

The former governor who was an Independence Day guest at a church programme, The Platform, in Lagos had told his audience how he ran Anambra state successfully and left a huge amount of money for the incumbent governor.

“Peter Obi increased the money for his private kitchen at the Government House to N2million monthly and increased the feeding for the Police officers attached to him to N7million monthly”, he alleged saying the increase was never translated to increased feeding

He alleged that his former boss lied when he said he stopped the buffet-styled dinner being served at the Government House.

“What he did was to sack all the previous cooks and butlers and employed over 30 cooks/butlers/stewards from Akwa Ibom and expanded the kitchen budget. The bills are still there. It is verifiable. The Akwa Ibom cooks and stewards were over 20; who were they cooking for? Buffet was always there.

“Peter Obi purchased a bulletproof BMW for his wife and two bulletproof land cruisers for himself. He even bought an additional one for his brother, Damian.

“He was always using private jets to travel as often as any other state governor in Nigeria. The records are there and can be made public.

“Peter Obi should be careful the way he opens his mouth because we can expose him to the public enough to put him behind bars. Obiano does not want to probe him, so he should shut up.

“We have information that he is lobbying to avoid being probed. What he does not know is that President Buhari is a no-nonsense person. He does not take kindly to hypocrites and corruption”, he said.

According to Benji Obi, Gov. Willie Obiano has asked Chief Peter Obi for forgiveness for any perceived offence known and unknown to him. “Still Peter Obi goes around talking about the Anambra Governor with disdain. Dr. Chris Ngige did not vilify him the way he is trying to do to Obiano. It is not fair”, he stated.