TheCable

Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra, has accused All Progressives Congress (APC) and Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, of trying to destabilise the state.

Obiano made the allegation on Thursday while briefing state house correspondents on the outcome of his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Malami had said the federal government may declare a state of emergency in Anambra to ensure that the November 6 election in the state takes place.

Obiano described Malami’s statement as “unfortunate” and wondered why the AGF had not contemplated the imposition of emergency rule in northern states “where there had been a lot of killings”.

The governor said apart from the recent security crisis, Anambra had been the most peaceful in the south-east.

“The president is firm; he wants a peaceful election in Anambra state. He wants a free and fair election in Anambra state,” he said.

“But if people in his party are going around making insinuations, using his name to do things, the president clearly told me that he does not support that.

“I also reported that (Malami’s statement) to the president because he knows that Anambra has been the safest state in Nigeria for seven years plus.

“Anambra is doing well, and don’t forget that Malami is on the national campaign committee for the APC candidate. So, if that’s their strategy, then they failed already. Come to the ballot box, APGA will win and win hands down.

“They are trying to see how they can destabilise us. No! APC has no room in Anambra. There’s no party called APC in Anambra. Anambra is APGA.”

Obiano said the violent attacks in Anambra cannot be compared with the situation in the north.

“Even to contemplate state of emergency is unfortunate. Look at what is happening in the north; they kill dozens every day. Because less than 15 people were killed in Anambra in two weeks, is that a reason for somebody to call for a state of emergency?” he asked.

“When you have malaria and when you have cancer, they are two different treatments. What we have in Anambra is malaria. So, you don’t have to use a sledgehammer to kill that.

“We are not near, in terms of confusion and security challenges, compared to Zamfara and co.

“In summary, what I’m saying is that this election must hold. We’ll have enough security to back the people and Professor Chukwuma Soludo will be the next governor of Anambra state.”