Get your facts right, Amaechi tells Peter Obi

Minister of Transportation and DG of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO), Rotimi Amaechi, has tackled Peter Obi, vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) over a statement credited to him.

Featuring on The Candidate, a live television programme on 2019 elections on Wednesday with Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state had claimed that former president Goodluck Jonathan had released money for all the rail projects completed by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

Reacting to the claims on Thursday in Kano state, Amaechi said Peter Obi lied by saying that former president Goodluck Jonathan had released money for all the rail projects completed by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

“It is not correct from what my friend and former colleague said that the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan had paid all the money for the railway, before we came. It is not correct,” Amaechi said.

“If they had paid all the money the contractors would have completed the job, why didn’t they complete it in their regime? We are looking for $500 million to complete all the airports, it is not correct that they had finished payment for the Abuja-Kaduna rail.

“As a former governor and a vice-presidential candidate, we expect that Peter must work with figures, he could have come to my office and ask for those figures, we would have given to him.

“He is also not correct that the Lagos-Ibadan was also there. We had to borrow money to fix the Lagos-Ibadan, there is a need for them not to deceive Nigerians. That project was initiated by us, paid for through the loan we got from China Exim bank.

“So the statement yesterday by my friend, Governor Peter Obi is not correct, and if he wants it, I am ready to open a debate with him, with facts and figures and documents to show that he is not correct.

“I am open for a debate tomorrow morning; anytime any day. I am open for a debate on Sunday, he and I are Catholics, in the church, let him tell me where he’ll worship, I’d worship there, and let us open the debate on whether he is right or wrong.”