Senator Adams Oshiomhole has claimed that Edo State was safer during his tenure as governor than Anambra State was under Peter Obi, arguing that the former Labour Party presidential candidate failed to effectively tackle insecurity while in office.
Oshiomhole made the remarks during an interview on Seun Okinbaloye’s podcast, excerpts of which circulated on Sunday.
The senator, who governed Edo State from 2008 to 2016, compared his administration’s security record with that of Obi, who served as governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014.
“Peter Obi could not fix insecurity in Anambra State. My state was safer than Anambra under Obi,” Oshiomhole said during the interview.
He credited Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, with taking stronger action against criminal activities, particularly kidnapping. According to Oshiomhole, Obiano moved against individuals whose properties were allegedly linked to criminal operations.
Oshiomhole further alleged that kidnapping had become widespread in Anambra during Obi’s administration.
“It got to a situation where wives kidnapped husbands and husbands kidnapped wives and told children to bring money. It got to that level,” he said.
The former governor also questioned Obi’s ability to address broader national security challenges, arguing that his record in Anambra raises doubts about his capacity to tackle insecurity at the federal level.
Beyond security, Oshiomhole criticised Obi’s recent comments against ethnic profiling, saying political leaders must go beyond identifying problems and present clear policy solutions.
“Everybody knows that things are not perfect, but a statesman must provide answers,” he said. “There have to be specific new things that they will bring. But we haven’t heard anything other than the buzzword, ‘Do the right thing.’”
Oshiomhole also expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s political prospects, predicting that the president would secure victory “hands down” in the next election cycle.
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, is currently the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.
