Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has debunked claims that his remarks constituted a threat to the life of Labour Party Presidential candidate Peter Obi and his family.
Morka made this clarification about his controversial statement during a recent interview on Arise TV’s The Morning Show and challenged Obi to provide evidence of the alleged threats.
The dispute started after Obi, in his New Year message, encountered criticism from Morka, who stated during an earlier Arise TV interview that “Obi has crossed the line so many times” and added that, “whatever he has coming to him, he should manage it.”
After the statement, Obi alleged that he and his family had got threats to their lives, which he connected to Morka’s comments. He stated that he had been inundated with messages, some of which contained direct threats since the interview aired.
Meanwhile, Morka dismissed Obi’s claims as unfounded and insisted that his comments did not imply any harm to Obi.
He said: “If Peter Obi was called a prophet of doom or was called a voodoo economist, he has it coming to him because he has crossed several lines of truth, end of story.
“There’s nothing else to suggest (threats) in those words that I said in the moment of the interview. Peter Obi is speaking a lot of falsehood.”
He explained that his remarks were a reaction to criticisms of Obi’s economic perspectives, which some Nigerians have described as unrealistic. He maintained that Obi deserved any such labels due to what Morka described as repeated falsehoods.
While addressing Obi’s claims of threats, Morka urged him to substantiate his allegations. He said: “He who alleges must prove. If Peter Obi says anyone threatened him, he must, beyond just saying ‘I’ve been threatened,’ provide evidence. For a man in his standing, I think he should supply some evidence of those who threatened him. If anyone threatened Peter Obi, we should not be having a conversation in your studio. The law enforcement system should be looking for those who threatened Obi’s life.”
Morka made it known that he had no intention of threatening Obi and reiterated that his earlier comment was strictly about Obi being labelled a “voodoo economist” for allegedly distorting facts.
He said: “The comment was about him crossing several lines of truth, and he deserved the criticism he received.”
