The Presidency on Monday launched a coordinated response to comments made by the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, during a televised interview, accusing him of distorting President Bola Tinubu’s political history and lacking a clear governance agenda.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed Obi’s comparison between his own political journey and that of President Tinubu, insisting that the President had remained consistent within Nigeria’s progressive political movement throughout his career.
In a post on his verified X account, Onanuga described Obi’s television appearance as a failed attempt to revive his 2027 presidential ambition, arguing that Tinubu’s political trajectory differs fundamentally from Obi’s.
According to him, Tinubu began his political career in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he was elected senator before emerging as one of the leading figures in the pro-democracy struggle following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He noted that after returning from exile in 1998, Tinubu joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and remained within the progressive political family, helping to establish the Action Congress (AC), later the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before spearheading the coalition that formed the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion. He stayed in the same lane,” Onanuga stated, adding that the President consistently built political platforms rather than abandoning them.
Drawing a contrast, Onanuga accused Obi of moving across multiple political parties, including the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, African Democratic Congress (ADC), and now the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He alleged that Obi had repeatedly left parties instead of strengthening them, adding that if the NDC failed to meet his expectations, he would likely move again.
Onanuga also criticized Obi’s continued insistence that he won the 2023 presidential election, urging the former Anambra State governor to accept the Supreme Court’s affirmation of President Tinubu’s victory.
“Mr. Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,” he said.
Also reacting, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Frederick Nwabufo, argued that Obi’s interview failed to present any concrete policy alternatives to the Tinubu administration.
According to Nwabufo, Obi relied on emotional rhetoric without outlining practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
He also questioned Obi’s pledge to unite the country, saying the opposition candidate did not explain how he intended to achieve national cohesion.
Nwabufo maintained that President Tinubu’s administration had promoted inclusive governance through appointments, projects, and programmes spread across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Meanwhile, Senator Adams Oshiomhole also criticized Obi’s comments, accusing the former Anambra governor of misunderstanding Nigeria’s economic realities.
Speaking during a television interview, the former Edo State governor defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, describing them as difficult but necessary measures inherited from an economy that was already in distress.
Oshiomhole argued that Obi approached economic issues from the perspective of a trader rather than an industrialist, alleging that his business interests encouraged imports instead of domestic job creation.
The senator further claimed that Obi’s political popularity was boosted by public dissatisfaction during the cash scarcity and naira redesign crisis at the end of the previous administration, insisting that Nigeria was now gradually recovering under President Tinubu’s economic policies.
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