The raging controversy over the actual sum of money left in liquid
currency when former governor Peter Obi of Anambra State handed over
power in March last year has driven home the saying by British
statesman, Winston Churchill that – “a lie gets halfway around the
world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” This is
more so because since Obi’s successor decided to break his 19-month
old silence on the controversy, further revelations have shown
Nigerians the factual account of Obi’s Handover Notes. A fierce duel
between the representatives of the warring parties on Channels
Television on Tuesday, November 18, 2015 offers us a veritable insight
into the dispute.
After the crossfire between former governor Peter Obi’s media aide Mr.
Valentine Obienyem and Governor Obiano’s Principal Secretary, Mr.
Willie Nwokoye on the live television programme, the question
agitating the minds of many people is why did Mr. Obi hand over a
castle of lies? Another question is whether Mr. Obi will now let peace
reign in Anambra State.
Apparently responding to the challenge thrown by Mr. Obienyem for a
televised debate over the contentious N75bn cash asset purportedly
left by his boss, Mr. Nwokoye had shown up on Sunrise, a popular
programme on Channels Television where he had deftly pried open the
N75bn Pandora’s Box and displayed the actual contents for all to see.
Nwokoye’s performance established without a shred of doubt that Obi’s
claim about leaving N75bn for his successor was absolutely incorrect.
While not denying that the former governor left some money behind,
Nwokoye maintained the position earlier taken by the Obiano
administration that the actual sum left behind in liquid cash by Obi
was N9bn.
Interestingly, when prodded by the Channels Interview panel, Obi’s
media aide, valentine Obienyem sensationally corroborated Nwokoye’s
position on the actual sum left by his boss and admitted for the first
time that the so-called N75bn cash legacy was essentially in
investment and in cash. This is contrary to the spurious and almost
criminal claims frequently bandied by Obi’s coterie of media aides
insisting that the former governor left a cash sum of N75bn behind
when he exited office in March 2014. Obieneym has been leading a band
of attack dogs whose sole mission is to embarrass and discredit the
governor and his family for reasons that are not known to the people
since the man they are supposedly working for is not standing election
in the state.
In the Channels TV programme, Obienyem had arrived with spurious
documents containing curious account numbers where the former governor
had supposedly left hefty sums of money for his successor. However,
under the intense probing of the Channels crew, it became clear that
the documents that Obienyem was brandishing were not the same Handover
Notes submitted by his master on the day he handed over power to Chief
Obiano. When Maupe Ogun, one of the interviewers reminded him that the
issue in contention was not whether his boss had left some money
behind, but whether he had actually left N75bn in liquid cash,
Obienyem became tongue-tied. “How much in total would you say was the
cash left at the time your boss handed over?” Maupe insisted. Cornered
into a box where he had no choice than to mention a figure, Obienyem
blurted out “N37bn in liquid currency,” thereby establishing a solid
basis for doubt about the actual sum of money left by his boss. Again
when prodded by the same interviewer on whether he had any problems
with the decision of the Anambra State Government to clear the air on
the inconsistencies in the handover note since the bogus claim was
affecting its credibility before the people, Obienyem seemed
momentarily lost for words before finally lacing his comment with a
dose of comedy. He reasoned that “whoever is in charge in Awka should
have called my boss before going public.” How preposterous!
Obienyem’s timid performance culminating in his frank admission that
former governor Obi did not leave the sum of N75bn cash asset behind
fully underscores the strong arm tactics that had been deployed
against governor Obiano in the past 19 months to frustrate his efforts
to make a mark in Anambra State. Obienyem’s admission that the claim
of bequeathing Obiano the sum of N75bn was flawed and his failed
attempt to smuggle yet another bank statement into public
consciousness on live television signposted a dangerous desperation to
score a cheap political point without the scantiest regard for what
mattered to the people.
What finally came out of the so called “debate” which Obieneyem had
cockily brought upon himself is a convincing confirmation that former
governor Peter Obi did not leave N75bn in liquid cash for his
successor as had been widely bandied about. It is not clear whether
Obienyem knew the implication of admitting that the actual figure left
was N37bn but basic accounting principles state that once an error is
admitted in a financial claim, it impugns the integrity of the entire
financial profile. In other words, a discerning audience has no basis
to believe that even the “N37bn in liquid currency” which Obienyem is
suddenly waving as the new legacy is factual.
Meanwhile, away from Obienyem’s regrettable television appearance,
many people are wondering whether former governor Obi would be
prepared to work for peace now that the contentious N75bn has been
tabled before the Nigerian public. Many people wonder whether the high
drama surrounding the matter that has played itself out since last
weekend would serve as a perfect closure to this avoidable exchange
between the erstwhile friends who attended the same secondary school.
But perhaps more importantly, many people are actually hopeful that
when the storm raised by Obiano’s disclaimer of the N75bn cash legacy
finally settles, Peter Obi would allow his successor to continue the
good work he is doing in Anambra State.
