74-year-old retired Colonel says she regrets support for Obi in last election

Joseph Ibrahim

A 74-Year-old retired Colonel, Mrs Chinyere Obi, has said she regretted the support she gave the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during the last election.

Mrs Obi claimed she got shot in the leg while campaigning for the former Anambra state governor. She said the Labour Party presidential candidate and party leaders abandoned her.

She said no single member of the Labour Party visited her while at hospital nursing her wounds.

She said the gunshot wound she suffered was because of her commitment to the party’s activities in Imo state.

While addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, July 6, the retired Colonel said nobody from the Labour Party visited her to empathize with her over her condition.

She said: “I had to sell my Honda Pilot Jeep for N1.5 million in June to be able to treat the gunshot wound. At my age, 74, I am selling my things to heal completely.”

She said that as a retired colonel collecting pension and entitlements, she did not seek or ask for financial help from the Labour Party presidential candidate.

Colonel Chinyere Obi said she was angry that not even a single person from the party came to check up on her at the hospital while undergoing recovery routines.

She said: “As a retired colonel, I have my pension and entitlements. I wasn’t even asking for money. My anger is that nobody reached out, not even one person came to the hospital at the FMC.

“I fought and campaigned for Obi for the youths so that Nigeria can change. I have no need for anything, I am a British citizen and my children are all British citizens. I have nothing to lose or gain, I spent N5 million buying rice and visiting people, women across the country.”

Madam Chinyere Obi said she got shot when she tried to protect a Labour Party’s polling unit agent in her hometown, Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo state.

She noted that some unidentified political thugs had invaded the voting area during the election threatening the PU agent when she tried to intervene.

She said: “The next thing I heard was pooh-pooh! There were gunshots on my leg. I am diabetic, this could have led to the amputation of my leg but nobody from the Labour Party, not Abure (referring to LP’s national chairman ) or even Peter Obi sent a word or visited.

“I curse the day I entered the Labour party. I was in the PDP, and when Obi joined Labour Party, I followed him.”