Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has finally broken his long silence on claims of his Igbo paternity.
Obasanjo described the insinuation as laughable, saying he doesn’t believe anybody should be driven away from any part of the country because “we own this country together.”
The former president spoke when he received in audience the leadership of Ndigbo Amaka Progressive Market Association, an umbrella body of major markets in Lagos State at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State on Thursday.
Obasanjo’s Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, in a statement, said the former president who was tacit on the paternity claim issue, simply said, “It just make me laugh.”
Obasanjo, while speaking on the meeting, said the leadership of the group reached out to him to support the establishment of the Owerri Central Market positioned to be the best of its kind in the country.
He acknowledged that the Central Market Owerri had been contemplated since the creation of Imo state, adding that for one reason or the other, it has not been implemented, “but, I am glad it is coming up again and I hope this time, we are all going to make it real. It is going to be big, the first of its kind.
“And, I am happy also that the Governor is showing the desired interest and understanding. And, I am confident that the Owerri Central Market will be, as he expressed the desire to lead the marketing team for the market,” he said.
The former president said he doesn’t believe anybody in Nigeria should be driven away from any part of the country asserting that, “we own this country together “
“Having ensured that the Yorubas, Igbos and Hausas all came together to fight the war of unity in Nigeria, and “not to fight Igbos to go, but to come. So if anybody says to me, that somebody should leave any place, he will be the one to leave.”
Spokesperson of the group, Chief Emeka Dallas Emmanuel, who read a letter jointly signed by Comrade Chinedu Ukatu and Evangelist Iwuchukwu Ezenwafor, explained that the market will be a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship assuring the group’s determination to play its role to the growth of the market and the nation.
He further sought the help of the former President towards the actualisation of the international market capable of taking a vast majority off the streets.
Emmanuel added the assistance of the former President will go a long way in helping their members to obtain loans to purchase shops and spaces at the market.
