Presidential Aide Calls Obi’s Interview a ‘PR Disaster’
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, has sharply criticised Peter Obi, the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), calling his recent appearance on Channels TV a 'PR disaster' riddled with falsehoods. Onanuga stated that he switched off the programme after about 30 minutes and then proceeded to address two specific claims Obi made during the interview with presenter Seun Okinbaloye.
Party Movements: Tinubu’s Consistency vs. Obi’s Opportunism
The first point of contention arose when Okinbaloye pressed Obi on his record of switching parties. Obi suggested his movements were no different from those of President Tinubu. Onanuga flatly rejected the comparison, arguing that Tinubu has maintained a consistent ideological path since entering party politics in the early 1990s. He traced Tinubu’s journey from the Social Democratic Party through the Alliance for Democracy, the Action Congress, the Action Congress of Nigeria, and finally into the All Progressives Congress following a merger in 2013 with the Congress for Progressive Change and the New Peoples Democratic Party. Onanuga insisted that each transition was part of a broader effort to build and consolidate a progressive political movement, not personal opportunism.
In contrast, Onanuga noted that Obi abandoned the All Progressives Grand Alliance after his second term as governor, despite swearing he would never leave. He then joined the Peoples Democratic Party and ran as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2019. After that defeat, Obi left for the Labour Party, contested the 2023 presidential election, and came third. He subsequently departed without resolving a leadership crisis within the party, including questions over unaccounted campaign funds. Onanuga added that Obi teamed up with Atiku to move into the African Democratic Congress before eventually landing at the NDC, a party promoted by former governor Senator Seriake Dickson. 'You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,' Onanuga wrote.
Refusal to Accept 2023 Election Outcome
The second issue Onanuga raised concerned the 2023 presidential election. When Okinbaloye asked Obi directly whether he believed he had been rigged out, Obi said he did. Onanuga said he was 'utterly surprised' that more than three years after the Supreme Court dismissed Obi’s petition, Obi still refuses to accept the result. Onanuga acknowledged that Obi’s showing in the 2023 election was creditable for a candidate with limited political structures outside social media support. However, he maintained that the result was clear: Obi lost and came third. 'Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,' Onanuga wrote.
Onanuga’s remarks come amid ongoing political manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 elections. The presidential aide’s detailed rebuttal underscores the deep divisions between the ruling party and the opposition, with Obi continuing to challenge the legitimacy of the 2023 outcome.
