Media adviser to Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Obienyem, has said his principal did not spew no serious leader will go on vacation.
Recall that on Sunday, the former Anambra State governor who joined the Muslim community to celebrate Eid-el-Fitr at the Central Mosque in Onitsha, Anambra, said with Nigeria’s current situation, no serious leader will go to rest, hence he cannot go on vacation.
Obienyem, in a statement on Tuesday, said Obi was asked by journalists at the event why he was not taking the holidays to rest.
According to Obienyem, Obi’s response was: “Well, those who need rest should have rest. Those of us who don’t need rest should continue to work.”
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He stated Obi’s statement was misinterpreted by some sections of the media who reported him as saying that “no serious leader will go on rest.”
“For me, politics is not about the office; it’s about helping to get a better society. If you are in politics because of office, it’s wrong. Politics is about the good of the society. As I am leaving here, I am going to the hospital to support people in the hospital. That’s what politics is about,” Obienyem quoted Obi as saying.
Obienyem furthered he was unsure where the media organisations that published the quote got it from, adding that it is part of the ploy to make sure “the former Anambra state governor is dragged into every controversy to distract attention and remove his focus on the issue and on the mission of rescuing Nigeria.”