Bayo Onanuga, spokesperson to President Bola Tinubu, has thrown his weight in support of the Minister of Works, Engineer Dave Umahi, alleging that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the last general election, Mr Peter, was inciting Igbos against the government.
Onanuga said Umahi’s allegation underscores Obi’s hypocrisy on the Lagos-Calabar superhighway.
“Works Minister Engineer Dave Umahi underscores Peter Obi’s hypocrisy on the Lagos-Calabar superhighway,” he wrote on his X handle on Thursday.
DAILY POST reported that Umahi had alleged that Obi was inciting people of the south east, especially those who are not well informed, against the government.
Umahi also claimed that Obi would subsequently not go to fight for the Igbos even after getting them into trouble.
The Minister’s statement was made on Wednesday while speaking during a compensation for property owners affected by the Lagos- Calabar coastal road prospect.
Recall that the 700-kilometre coastal highway has been enmeshed in controversy following the demolition of Landmark Beach Resort, valued at $200 million, to create right of way for the project which is estimated to cost the federal government N15 trillion.
Obi had slammed Tinubu’s administration for going on with the controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project in defiance to public outcry.
The presidential candidate claimed that the government was embarking on a job-losing project at a time of rampant unemployment, advising that it was not too late to discontinue the Lagos-Calabar highway project.
According to him, urgent necessities in the country include nationwide security, poverty eradication, healthcare, and education, especially for the poor and underprivileged.
However, Umahi questioned Obi’s view about the project.
He accused the former Anambra State governor of going around to condemn people, thereby bringing judgement upon himself.