‘It’s laughable’, Obasanjo speaks on controversial Igbo roots

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has finally spoken on his controversial Igbo paternity, describing it as laughable.

There has been an allegation that Obasanjo’s father hailed from Anambra State.

In the build-up to the 2023 election, the former President was accused of backing Labour Party’s Peter Obi, because of his (Obsanjo’s) Igbo roots.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Friday, quoted Obasanjo to have made reference to the alleged Igbo roots.

• LG poll: Labour Party Rejects N2m levy on Chairmanship candidates in Kaduna
• ‘Foreign interference undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty’

“It just makes me laugh,” Obasanjo said, as quoted in the statement.

Obasanjo reportedly spoke while receiving the leadership of Ndigbo Amaka Progressive Market Association, an umbrella body of major markets in Lagos state held at the boardroom of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Speaking at the meeting, Obasanjo 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”

He said “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.”

The former President 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 idea of Central Market Owerri had been in the offing since the creation of Imo state, but “for one reason or the other, it has not been implemented.”

“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 also happy 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,” the former President said.

In his remarks, the group’s spokesperson Chief Emeka Dallas Emmanuel who read a letter jointly signed by Comrade Chinedu Ukatu and Evangelist Iwuchukwu Ezenwafor said the market will be a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

He further sought the former President’s support towards the actualization of the international market capable of taking a vast majority off the streets.