The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, yesterday got a knock from the presidency for his Sunday television interview on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political journey.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga accused Obi of serial political defections and insisted that President Tinubu’s political trajectories bear no resemblance to the NDC candidate’s.
Onanuga, in a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, dismissed the appearance as a failed attempt to revive the former governor of Anambra State’s 2027 presidential ambition, describing it as a public relations disaster.
He said Obi’s comparison of his movement across political parties with Tinubu’s political journey was misleading.
Onanuga maintained that the President had remained committed to the progressive political tradition throughout his career.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu began his political career in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he won election to the Senate before becoming one of the prominent figures in the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He recalled that Tinubu resisted military rule, participated in pro-democracy activities, endured detention and later went into exile, where he continued the campaign for democratic rule before returning to Nigeria in 1998 to join the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
The presidential aide noted that although the AD later experienced internal crises, Tinubu remained within the progressive fold, leading the formation of the Action Congress (AC), which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before spearheading the merger that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion. He stayed in the same lane”, Onanuga said, arguing that the President built successive political platforms rather than abandoning them.
In contrast, he accused Obi of moving from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then to the Labour Party, the ADC and subsequently to the NDC, describing him as a politician who consistently leaves parties instead of rebuilding them.
Onanuga claimed Obi abandoned APGA despite pledges to remain in the party, later joined the PDP to contest the 2019 presidential election as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate, before moving to the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 election.
He said that Obi left the African Democratic Congress (ADC)following its internal leadership crisis and moved to the NDC after failing to secure his preferred political platform elsewhere.
“It is not in doubt that if the NDC fails to deliver what you want, you are not far away from the exit door. You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow”, Onanuga stated.
The presidential spokesman also faulted Obi’s continued insistence that he won the 2023 presidential election, saying the former governor should accept the outcome affirmed by the Supreme Court.
According to him, Obi had an opportunity during the television interview to acknowledge the election result but instead maintained that he was rigged out.
Onanuga maintained that Obi finished third in the election and urged him to stop claiming victory more than three years after the apex court dismissed his petition.
“Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had”, he said.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Frederick Nwabufo, yesterday described Obi’s interview as evidence of what he called the opposition leader’s lack of policy depth and understanding of governance.
Reacting in a post on his verified X handle, @FredrickNwabufo, to Obi’s appearance on Television on Sunday night, Nwabufo said the interview showed the NDC candidate had failed to articulate any concrete alternative policy direction.
“Peter Obi’s interview shows him again to be vacant of deep thought, understanding of governance, and taken up by syrupy rhetoric. He still has no plan, no alternative, and no policy plank, beyond a mouthful of sentimental nothings”, he said.
The presidential aide also faulted Obi’s claim that he would unite Nigeria, arguing that the opposition candidate failed to explain how he intended to achieve that objective.
“Obi claimed he would unite Nigeria, but failed to explain how beyond the tired refrain of his cooks and ADC being northerners”, Nwabufo said, adding that “his utterances, actions, and those of his followers have but deepened the chasm”.
According to him, national cohesion is built on “inclusive governance, economic integration, and equitable citizenship”, stressing that “the balancing forces of national cohesion are governance and the economy”.
He argued that strengthening national unity requires governments to ensure that “public resources are delivered to all citizens regardless of faith, ethnicity, or social standing and that the government is fair and just to all”.
Nwabufo said President Bola Tinubu had demonstrated those principles by ensuring that “the six geopolitical zones are equal beneficiaries of its programmes, initiatives, and projects, and indeed, all the accruals of governance”.
He cited the administration’s appointments into public offices, saying:”He appointed young professionals from diverse backgrounds at an unprecedented scale. For the first time in the evolution of Nigeria, young people are superintending strategic sectors of government”.
The presidential spokesman also defended the President’s approach to national leadership, saying Tinubu had addressed concerns over the composition of the nation’s service chiefs while maintaining a unifying posture.
Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, over his criticism of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration.
Oshiomhole said the former Anambra State governor lacked the experience to appreciate the depth of Nigeria’s economic challenges when Tinubu assumed office.
According to him, Tinubu inherited an economy that was “virtually grounded” and had to undertake painful but necessary reforms to prevent a total collapse.
Oshiomhole argued that Obi, “being a trader”, viewed the economy from a narrow commercial perspective rather than from the standpoint of industrial development.
“Obi is not aware because he is busy trading. His business is to export jobs and import unemployment into the country. That is what he lives for. He is a trader,” the senator said.
According to him, sustainable economic growth depends on long-term investments in manufacturing and infrastructure rather than trading activities.
The Edo senator also described Obi as an opposition figure living on false hope because he profited from the discontent generated by the naira redesign and cash scarcity policy implemented during the closing months of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
He argued that the unprecedented hardship caused by the policy, coupled with internal divisions within the then ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), created the conditions that boosted Obi’s popularity during the 2023 presidential election.
Interrogating Obi’s record as governor in Anambra, Oshiomhole argued that anyone who could not fully transform a state after eight years in office should not claim he could fix Nigeria within four years.
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