Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said Nigerians are now ready to closely scrutinise claims made by Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 election.
Keyamo made the statement on Thursday in an X post while commenting on the ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the financial records of his tenure as governor.
The minister rejected suggestions that the repeated attention on Obi reflected an obsession with the former Anambra governor, arguing that increased scrutiny was necessary to establish whether his public claims were accurate.
“I see some suggestions that everyone is ‘obsessed’ about Peter Obi because we are always talking about him. I am sorry, but they miss the point,” Keyamo wrote.
He accused Obi of making false claims during the 2023 election campaign and argued that they were not adequately fact-checked at the time.
“When someone lies per second, you also have to fact-check him per second. He got away with the lies in 2023, but this time Nigerians are ready to fact-check every claim of the ‘yes-daddy’ man,” the minister said.
The statement comes amid an ongoing dispute between Obi and the Anambra State Government over the former governor’s financial record.
The state government says loans obtained during Obi’s tenure remained outstanding after he left office and are still being serviced. It has also challenged Obi’s claim that more than N2.13 billion was left in a First Bank account for the Oko and Umuchiana erosion project.
Obi has rejected the allegations, maintaining that his administration left no outstanding debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, gratuities or liabilities to contractors for duly executed projects. He has also maintained that more than N2.13 billion in ecological funds was left untouched in a First Bank account for the designated erosion project.
Keyamo said the level of public attention given to Obi was directly related to the claims he makes.
“Therefore, to put it simply, the amount of time we talk about Peter Obi is directly proportional to the amount of lies he tells,” he added.
