By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Senator representing Anambra Central, Chief Victor Umeh, has launched a scathing attack on former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, over his criticism of the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, accusing the former governor( Sheriff )of attempting to whip up anti-Obi sentiment in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Umeh also described Sheriff as part of Nigeria’s insecurity problem, alleging that he introduced the Boko Haram insurgency into Nigeria’s political landscape.
“People like Ali Modu Sheriff are the problem of Nigeria. He was the one who introduced Boko Haram in this country,” Umeh said.
The exchange followed comments made by Sheriff during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television on Monday, where he claimed that Northerners would not vote for Obi in the 2027 presidential election because the former Anambra governor was “divisive.”
“I am not worried about Peter Obi at all because I know that Northerners will never vote for Peter Obi,” Sheriff had said.
When reminded that Obi secured significant votes in states such as Nasarawa and Plateau during the 2023 presidential election, Sheriff dismissed the comparison, insisting that circumstances had changed.
He further alleged that Obi, while serving as governor of Anambra State, “chased all the Northerners out of Anambra State.”
Reacting during the same programme on Tuesday, Umeh dismissed Sheriff’s remarks as outdated and divisive, saying Nigeria had moved beyond politics built on ethnic and regional sentiments.
“Anybody who gets up to say the North will not vote for Peter Obi is inciting their people against Peter Obi and trying to weaponise a war that ended 56 years ago. Nobody is in the Stone Age anymore. Nigeria is moving. If you don’t embrace reconciliation and healing, you cannot move forward,” Umeh said.
He accused Sheriff of deliberately trying to create hostility against Obi ahead of the 2027 elections.
“What he is trying to do is to whip up sentiment against Peter Obi ahead of the election. Peter Obi is one of the finest souls Nigeria has had—a non-violent leader, a preacher of peace, and someone committed to changing Nigeria for the better,” he added.
The disagreement also centred on Obi’s recent criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over worsening insecurity and his call for the President to resign if he could no longer guarantee the safety of Nigerians.
Sheriff had argued that Obi was the least qualified person to demand the President’s resignation, insisting that the Tinubu administration was making genuine efforts to tackle insecurity.
However, Umeh defended Obi’s position, maintaining that every opposition politician had the democratic right to demand accountability from the government.
“He has a right to say the President has not met the expectations of the Nigerian people. It is politically permissible to call on the President to resign because the current President himself asked President Goodluck Jonathan to resign while he was in office,” Umeh said.
The senator further criticised the Tinubu administration over the prevailing economic hardship, arguing that the removal of the fuel subsidy and the soaring cost of petrol had triggered a sharp rise in the prices of goods and services, worsening the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
