Group rubbishes Peter Obi, recalls his anti-poor records
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has come under scrutiny over his ‘anti-labour and anti-poor policies’ while he was governor of Anambra state.
Obi has continued to present himself as a prudent manager of resources, pro-masses politician, and one driven by a messianic zeal.
However, the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) says Obi’s vaunted persona is a mere “illusion”
Peluola Adewale, the socialist group’s organising secretary, in a post on Facebook, said that “a point which cannot be ignored is that as the governor of Anambra State, he (Obi) was unashamedly anti-worker”.
Obi, he said, “shut down state hospitals for thirteen months due to his stubborn refusal to meet the demands of the striking doctors (Vanguard February 28, 2012).
“For the same reason, the state university was closed down for more than six months (Vanguard January 18, 2011).
“The workers of the state water corporation had to secure a court order to force Obi’s successor, Obiano, to pay salaries and entitlements which Obi had owed them for eight years (Vanguard July 18, 2014). Some of the workers were said to have died without salary, gratuity or pension.”
Equally, the DSM recounted that“following a 2011 strike embarked upon by the state workers to demand the implementation of the legal minimum wage, Obi threatened to sack all Anambra state workers engaged since 2003”.
Obi also reportedly “reviewed the appointment of non-indigenes and placed embargo on the employment into the state services (Guardian September 20, 2011).”
The DSM also said that Obi “while he was the Anambra state governor also doubled as an Economic Adviser to President Jonathan, whose government earned historically the highest oil and gas revenue but created a serious mess, as a result of its economic agenda and egregious corruption”.
