Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, has vowed that Northern Nigeria would closely scrutinise Obi’s past record during his time as governor of Anambra State.
Yusuf stated this during an interview on Trust TV against the backdrop of recent political developments that saw Obi and Kwankwaso join the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The duo are being linked to a possible presidential and vice-presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, the former NHIS boss has stated that Northern Nigeria would closely scrutinise Obi’s past record, particularly allegations surrounding the treatment of northerners during his administration in Anambra State.
“The evil that men do lives after them. The good is often interred with their bones. We are going to interrogate and question Peter Obi’s tenure when he was governor of Anambra State.”
“What he did to northerners. We all know that. He deported them. He even made them have an ID card, their names, where they are from, what their occupation is, in this Nigeria that we live in,” he stated.
Yusuf argued that Obi’s past actions would remain difficult to overlook, even with an alliance with Kwankwaso.
“It is this same Kwankwaso that had to fly to Awka and warn them to be careful because there are more Igbo people living peacefully in Kano than northerners across the South-East,” Yusuf said.
“So he will come to the North now and explain to us. And that is why Kwankwaso is the vehicle to sell him to the North. But we have his record to interrogate,” he added.
When reminded during the programme that Obi has repeatedly spoken about the North’s agricultural and economic potential as a pathway to national prosperity, Yusuf dismissed the argument, insisting the former Labour Party presidential candidate lacked a proper understanding of the region’s realities.
“I know the North more than he does. He cannot come and tell me about the North,” he said.
“The biggest thing that ails us in the North is insecurity. What does he know about insecurity in the North? How is he going to take care of the problems of insecurity in Jibia, Safana, Matazu, Maradu?” Yusuf queried.
He also criticised Obi’s frequent references to Asian economic models.
“I’ve seen him come and give all these bogus numbers, Bangladesh this, Malaysia this. We don’t care. We want solutions to our problems”, he said.
The deportation controversy referenced by Yusuf dates back to Obi’s tenure as governor of Anambra State, when reports emerged that some destitute persons were relocated from the state.
His allies have repeatedly denied allegations of ethnic targeting, maintaining that the actions taken by the state government at the time were purely administrative and security-related.
