Peter Obi Breaks Silence on Abacha Meeting: “We Weren’t Political, Just Concerned Traders”

  Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has clarified the nature of his meeting with the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, ...

 

Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has clarified the nature of his meeting with the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, saying it was never political but a civic effort to solve port congestion issues.

Obi made this clarification in a statement released on Wednesday through his media aide, Valentine Obienyem, titled: “Our Engagement with General Abacha: Setting the Record Straight.”

The former Anambra State governor also attached a copy of the official letter showing that he, along with other importers and traders, had been formally co-opted into a presidential taskforce on port decongestion during the Abacha regime.

“The meeting with General Abacha was not political in nature. I had never met him before that encounter,” Obi said.

According to him, the interaction was initiated by a group of traders and importers—himself included—who were frustrated with prolonged delays in clearing goods at Nigerian ports.

“We approached him not as political actors, but as concerned citizens seeking pragmatic solutions to a matter affecting economic activity and livelihoods,” he explained.

Obi emphasized that their goal was purely economic, aiming to restore efficiency and productivity at the nation’s ports, and not driven by any political ambition or alignment with the military regime.

“Our actions were driven solely by a sense of civic duty,” he stated. “This clarification is offered in the interest of truth and for the sake of all men and women of goodwill.”

The statement comes amid a resurgence of political commentary and online discourse surrounding the past affiliations of Nigeria’s top political figures, particularly as coalition movements and opposition realignments ahead of 2027 continue to dominate headlines.