The Presidency has criticised the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, over his recent interview on Channels Television.
The Presidency accused the former Anambra State governor of distorting facts about his political career and failing to accept the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
The criticism was contained in a statement posted on 𝕏 on Monday, July 27, by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Onanuga described Obi’s interview as a “PR disaster,” arguing that the former Labour Party presidential candidate failed to revive his political fortunes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The presidential aide particularly disagreed with Obi’s comparison of his movement across different political parties with Tinubu’s political journey.
Onanuga argued that although Tinubu had also contested elections under different political platforms, the President had remained committed to the same progressive political ideology.
According to him, Tinubu’s political journey took him through the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He maintained that the parties were within the same ideological bloc and that Tinubu’s political movement should not be compared with Obi’s movement across different parties.
NEWSNGR reports that Obi began his political career with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) before moving to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He later joined the Labour Party and has now been linked to the newly formed Nigeria Democratic Congress.
Onanuga described the former Anambra governor as a “political nomad,” accusing him of abandoning political parties instead of working to strengthen them.
‘You Always Want To Reap’
The presidential spokesman alleged that Obi had repeatedly left political parties whenever they no longer served his political interests.
He argued that the former governor’s pattern of moving from one political platform to another showed that he was more interested in pursuing his personal political ambitions than building political institutions.
“Having watched Peter Obi’s interview on Channels TV on Sunday for about 30 minutes, I wasted no time tuning off. If the political nomad thought the interview would re-energise his ebbing 2027 presidential ambition, it turned out to be a PR disaster, judging from the spate of reactions to the many lies he referenced,” Onanuga stated.
He added, “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 would shamelessly migrate to yet another party. You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow.”
Onanuga also accused Obi of refusing to accept the result of the 2023 presidential election, in which he finished third behind the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the eventual winner, Tinubu of the APC.
The presidential aide said Obi was given an opportunity during the Channels Television interview to address the issue and demonstrate acceptance of the outcome of the election.
He, however, claimed that the former governor failed to use the opportunity to resolve concerns over his position on the election result.
“The second issue is that Seun gave you a golden opportunity to redeem yourself in respect of the outcome of the 2023 election,” Onanuga said.
