Mr. Valentine Obienyem, the Media Aide to the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has described former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, as a “lying machine”.

Obienyem was reacting to statements by Victor Umeh on AIT Focus Programme at the weekend, where he said, among other things, that Innoson Factory at Nnewi was closed down after some Chinese workers were kidnapped and did not open until Obi left office; that Obi’s Commissioner for Science and Technology was kidnapped during Obi’s tenure; that Obi’s first tenure in office was a monumental failure; that Obi left APGA because he wanted to become a Minister or Vice President and that Obi left no signature project.

In a release made available to the press on Saturday, Obienyem said that the entire programme did not contain an iota of truth. On the issue of Innoson Factory, Obienyem said that in Umeh’s voyage of dealing with Obi, he forgot that it was from the same Innoson that he claimed did not open during Obi’s tenure because of kidnapping that Obi bought vehicles for schools, security, traditional rulers and for refuse disposal. “The man is turning into another thing; he was present when Obi successfully invited President Goodluck Jonathan to commission that project in the state,” Obienyem said.

Frowning at the claim that Obi’s Commissioner for Science and Technology was kidnapped and killed under Obi, Obienyem said that such a statement was evident that Umeh was just childishly moving around and telling pitiable lies.

“I said this because during electioneering, Umeh was on Odenigbo Radio programme where he said the same thing, which Mr. Oseloka Obaze quickly corrected with facts and figures, where he gave details of how the man was kidnapped after Obi had left office and how he unfortunately died in the process,” he said.

On the issue of signature project and, Obi, according to Umeh, being a monumental failure in his first tenure, Obienyem said that it had become clear that most people bandying “signature” project did not actually know what it meant.

“How can you say that a man that was clearly returned on the basis of his first tenure work, including the completion of the first State Secretariat, the Teaching Hospital, the return of schools to the church and granting of over N6 billion for the rehabilitation of returned schools, the completion of more than 10 bridges, massive construction of roads, the presentation of first set of buses and computers to schools in Anambra State, among others, did not have a signature project?” Obienyem asked.

On the concourse of factors that made Obi to leave APGA, Obienyem wondered if Obi was the first person to have left a party for it to become a song pleasant to even the very man, Umeh, that requested him to leave the party in front of three Bishops. “It is on record that Obi had since left APGA before the issue of Security and Exchange Commission he mentioned came up. The man is on a mission and is looking for any available story to distort to achieve his heart desires,” Obienyem submitted.

Recalling that Nigerians thought he was coming on air to react to revelations by observers about Anambra election, Obienyem regretted that Obi ended up showcasing his little mindedness by proving that his mission was to destroy Obi’s reputation and integrity and even what he perceived as his future.

Concluding, Obienyem advised Chief Victor Umeh to grow up, and stop displaying what he called the antics of immature minds that secretly designed how to deal with an “enemy during election” and is happy executing it, even when every other participant in that election is facing the outcome maturely. Obienyem finally reminded Umeh that what he should be doing at this time is assisting Governor Willie Obiano to deliver his campaign promises for the good of Anambra people rather than carrying hate up and down lest it will boomerang on him.

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