Felix Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has refuted claims made by Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, that he (Morka) threatened him and his family over Obi’s New Year message to President Bola Tinubu.

Obi on Monday raised the alarm, tweeting that his message had prompted threats, including one from Morka, who allegedly accused him of “crossing the line” and warned of consequences.

The accusation stirred responses from various political figures, including Atiku Abubakar, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, who accused the ruling party of stifling opposition voices.

The Labour Party also demanded a probe into Obi’s claims and called on President Tinubu to take action against Morka.

Morka responded to the allegation in a statement on Tuesday, clarifying that the accusation arose from his answer to a question during an interview on AriseTV’s This Week programme on January 4, 2025.

He said, “To be clear and for the record, Morka did not threaten Mr Obi or his family or those around him or anyone. Morka has absolutely no reason to, and has never, threatened Obi or anyone.”

He further emphasised that his comments in the interview had been misinterpreted, stating, “Nothing that Morka said in that interview or any other forum remotely contains or suggests threat against Mr. Obi or anyone else.”

He described Obi’s allegations as “malicious lies,” adding that the “deliberate misrepresentation by Obi is a dangerous ploy to play the victim and incite public outrage against me”.

According to him, “Obi’s tactics of deceit and manipulation must be called out”.

Morka explained that the statement, “I am not somebody to go on the offensive in that manner, but Mr. Obi has crossed the line so many times and I think that at this point he has coming to him, whatever he gets, he needs to manage it,” was in response to a specific question about Obi’s remarks on “prophet of doom” and “voodoo economics,” and did not constitute a threat.

He also defended the right to free speech, asserting that while everyone, including Obi, has the right to express their views, they must also be held accountable for misinformation.

“While everyone has a right to free speech, no one has a right to peddle misinformation or outright falsehood,” Morka stated, adding that Obi could not expect to go unchallenged for spreading false narratives.

Morka further accused Obi of fostering a culture of intimidation, claiming that Obi’s supporters, in particular, engage in bullying and issuing death threats to those who disagree with him.

“Many eminent and highly respected elder statesmen have been serially attacked, humiliated and bullied by Obi’s online followers. Obi has never condemned their conduct or called them to order,” Morka said.

He also criticised Obi’s sense of entitlement, accusing him of thinking of himself as above reproach.

“Obi must think himself to be Nigeria’s sacred cow, the super citizen, quintessential, without blemish, beyond reproach, always right, never wrong,” Morka said.

He concluded by asserting that Obi’s assessments of the country’s economic crisis, made during the presidential campaign, were often based on misinformation.

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