Aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lere Olayinka, has strongly criticised comments made by former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, following his recent visit to a public primary school in the nation’s capital.
Obi, who toured LEA Primary School in Kapwa, Abuja on Wednesday alongside African Democratic Congress (ADC) chairmanship candidate for Abuja Municipal Area Council, Dr. Moses Paul, described the school’s condition as “a national disgrace” that “exposes Nigeria’s hollow commitment to education.” According to him, the school lacked basic amenities such as chairs and toilets, highlighting what he termed a systemic neglect of public education.
“I am shocked by what I saw,” Obi told journalists. “As governor of Anambra State, I made it a point to visit every primary and secondary school. We invested in education, and I left public funds for the state when I left office something uncommon in our political culture.”
However, in a swift response on Thursday, Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the FCT Minister, accused Obi of engaging in “baseless criticism” aimed at garnering media attention. He dismissed the former governor’s remarks as politically motivated and lacking in substance.
“Mr. Obi has turned himself into a critic of everything including the most ridiculous matters just to stay in the headlines,” Olayinka said in a statement. “The FCT Administration under Minister Nyesom Wike has awarded 102 contracts for school renovations. Of these, 21 schools have been fully renovated, and work is ongoing in 73 others across the six Area Councils.”
Olayinka went further, alleging that Obi failed to address similar infrastructure challenges during his own tenure as governor. He questioned Obi’s track record in Anambra, accusing him of financial mismanagement and prioritising savings over investment in education and infrastructure.
“If he had indeed performed the same ‘magic’ in Anambra that he claims he can perform nationwide, the state would today be a reference point for development,” Olayinka asserted. “Instead, Anambra is still dealing with the aftermath of eight years of misgovernance.”
In a sharply worded critique, the minister’s aide also questioned Obi’s political future, referring to him as an “internally displaced politician seeking a permanent abode in the media space.” He mocked the former presidential candidate’s campaign messaging and challenged him to demonstrate tangible development results from his time in office.
“It is amusing that someone who lacks a clear political platform heading into 2027 continues to sell the idea of national transformation within four years,” Olayinka added. “What did he transform in Anambra in eight?”
As the exchange highlights growing political tensions ahead of the 2027 general elections, it also reflects broader national conversations about governance, infrastructure, and the role of opposition figures in holding administrations accountable.
Both Obi and the FCT Administration have yet to announce further steps regarding the condition of the Kapwa school, but the incident underscores the contentious and highly scrutinized landscape of public education reform in Nigeria.
