The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has alleged that “duplicates” have been impersonating him and calling people, tarnishing his image in the process.
Obi said this in a series of tweets on Thursday.
This is not the first time that Obi would be a victim of the tricks of impersonators.
In April, the LP candidate was detained at Heathrow Airport in London, UK after an impersonator purportedly “duplicated” his identity.
Read Also: Impersonation: UK Immigration Detains Peter Obi For Hours
In the latest incident, Obi said, a duplicate pretending to be him called Mustapha Audu, the son of a former Governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu.
He narrated how the younger Audu told him that the person that called him spoke Igbo but dropped the call immediately he realised he (Audu) could not respond in the language.
This, Obi said, made Audu conclude that the LP candidate is a bigot who only deals with people of his ethnicity.
Obi urged Nigerians to be wary of people who called them mimicking his voice.
“My duplicates are still on the rampage, they now mimic my voice and call people. There is no limit that people cannot go to cause mischief on their target. I have been a target both locally and internationally.
“The latest incident happened in Abuja yesterday, 17th May at the Court of Appeal premises of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal venue, where my attention was drawn to what was going on outside the courtroom.
“A report came to me while I was seated in court that one Prince Mustapha Audu, son of the late Governor of Kogi state, held the OBIdient’s Chief Spokesman, Dr Yunusa Tanko and some others spellbound – castigating and talking down on me, describing me as an ethnic and religious bigot.
“He claimed that I called him while I was in front of his office on Tuesday morning at about 11 am, but suddenly cut off the phone after I spoke Igbo and he, Audu was unable to respond.
“According to him, Obi may have only helped to empower some businessmen strictly because they were Igbos, and he wondered why Obi should aspire to lead the country if he cannot accommodate other ethnic groups.
“It was one of my aides who quickly alerted me on what was going on and I pleaded with him to go outside and tell the OBIdients who were with the man to kindly delay him until I come out of the courtroom.
“After the court proceedings, I met with Audu and he repeated the same story, adding that he was angry at me for cutting off the phone on him because he could not speak Igbo. He insisted that I was in front of his office in Abuja when I called.
“I then introduced myself again to him and told him, “My brother, I did not call you, and I couldn’t have been in front of your office on Tuesday because I was not in Abuja, and not even in the country. At about the time you alleged that I called you, I was arriving Nice in France for a meeting. By the evening of the same day, I flew to London for another meeting and in fact, had to breeze in to felicitate with my dear elder brother, Dele Momodu on his 63rd birthday. I was arriving Nice in France for a meeting. By the evening of the same day, I flew to London for another meeting and in fact, had to breeze in to felicitate with my dear elder brother, Dele Momodu on his 63rd birthday”.”
Obi said that this is just one of the many desperate efforts to run him down and tag him as what he is not, with the intention to gain some perceived political mileage against him.
“Ordinarily, I am not scared or worried about competitions provided they are within the legitimate rules of engagement, but going this far is worrisome.
“It is quite very worrisome because this is certainly not the right way to develop a nation that is in dire need of positive changes that will enable her to join the League of Nations that are moving forward.
“It is quite very worrisome because this is certainly not the right way to develop a nation that is in dire need of positive changes that will enable her to join the League of Nations that are moving forward,” Obi added.