The All Progressives Congress has denied threatening the life of the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi.
Rather, the party claimed that its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, whom Obi had accused of threatening his life, has been battling with attacks and threats to life by supporters of Obi.
The ruling APC said the former governor of Anambra State was referring to an interview he (Morka) granted a television state at the weekend, insisting the Obi lied against him.
“To be clear and for the record, Morka did not threaten Mr Obi or his family or those around him or anyone. Morka has absolutely no reason to, and has never, threatened Obi or anyone. Nothing that Morka said in that interview or any other forum remotely contains or suggests threat against Mr. Obi or anyone else, as the verbatim transcription of the relevant clip indisputably attests,” he said.
The statement while referring to the television interview where Morka made the utterance that Obi has crossed the line, added that, “Morka’s answer was in the exclusive context of the question. The last sentence of that answer that, “I am not somebody to go on the offensive in that manner, but Mr. Obi has crossed the line so many times and I think that at this point he has coming to him, whatever he gets, he needs to manage it”, was in specific and exclusive response to the question’s reference to “prophet of doom” and “voodoo economics”. Again, nothing in that sentence constitutes or suggests a threat to Obi or anyone.”
He warned against misinformation and fake news, saying, “While everyone has a right to free speech, no one has a right to peddle misinformation or outright falsehood. The right to free speech granted by our country’s Constitution is not Mr. Obi’s exclusive right but a right that is available to all Nigerians, including Morka. Mr. Obi cannot disseminate misinformation and demand or expect that no one should disagree or challenge his false narrative.”
He accused Obi of leading “a restless band of online mob who continue to attack, intimidate, bully and issue death threats to other citizens who dare disagree or criticize Obi or his opinions or position on any subject or matter of national conversation.”
Morka further claimed that many eminent and highly respected elder statesmen have been serially attacked, humiliated and bullied by Obi’s online followers and that Obi has never condemned their conduct or called them to order.
The APC National Publicity Secretary said “There is no doubt that Mr. Obi has crossed the line of truth in his many assessments, adding that “As a candidate for the office of President in the last general election, Mr. Obi made very bold electoral promises to implement specific economic policies to tackle the country’s economic crisis.”
While maintaining his stand, Morka pointed out that he will continue to hold Obi and other opposition actors accountable for their actions just as they seek to, and should, hold APC and President Bola Tinubu’s administration accountable, when truth and public trust are compromised.
“Mr. Obi’s allegation that Morka threatened his life is a self-evident malicious lie and an attention-seeking, playing-the-victim, emotional blackmail. His claim is patently false and reprehensible.
“By falsely claiming that Morka threatened his life, Mr. Obi has libeled Morka in the extreme, and has incited his online mob to make death threats against Morka and members of his family. That is unacceptable. As a public figure, Mr. Obi bears a responsibility to provide accurate and truthful information. Instead, he has chosen to peddle falsehood and mislead Nigerians in quest for political currency and relevance,” he declared.
