By PETER ANOSIKE

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nelson Akuma, has described the story purportedly published by The New York Times that the United States relied on information and reports from Emeka Umeagbalasi, an alleged screwdriver trader in Onitsha, Anambra State, to launch air strikes in Nigeria, as a cheap blackmail against the Igbo nation ahead of the 2027 general election.

Reacting to the story, he said that fear of ADC presidential hopeful Peter Obi in the 2027 general election is what is driving the evil narrative.

According to Akuma, since the January 15 coup story did not sell, the spin masters have decided to spin another malicious story to pitch the Igbos against the North.

He said that the story is even an insult on the US military as well as the globally acclaimed New York Times.

Speaking further, Akuma pointed out that, based on verifiable reports, the cleric who has lamented the most about Christian genocide in Nigeria is Reverend Ezekiel Dachomo – a non-Igbo – and never Umeagbalasi, a famous and credible human rights activist whose organisation, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has achieved worldwide acclaim.

He also said that some credible organisations like Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN), among others, have declared that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria.

“It is frightening the extent that some people can go because of the fear of Peter Obi. Few days ago, they were pushing the narrative of January 15, 1966 coup as Igbo coup and was even publishing the photos of the wife of Ahmadu Bello just to weep of sentiment. But when they realized that the story was not selling, they decided to come up with the story of Onitsha screw driver seller influencing Donald Trump to bomb Sokoto. So, what they are trying to do is to pitch the south east against the north, which is very shameful,” Akuma said. He appealed to Nigerians not to be deceived by mischief makers.

According to him, “We should be more concerned with the narratives that would unite us as a country rather than the ones that would divide us.”

The ADC chieftain said that Nigerians should rise above cheap blackmail and propaganda and work towards building an egalitarian society.