The Presidency has dismissed allegations by the Peter Obi Media Office of a plot to block the former Labour Party presidential candidate from contesting the 2027 election, insisting that President Bola Tinubu has no connection with the crises rocking opposition parties.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, was responding to Newsmen enquiries when he described attempts to link the President to the developments as unfair and misplaced.
“I wonder why all these incompetent politicians are turning President Bola Tinubu into their favourite whipping boy. The President has nothing to do with Obi’s abandonment of the Labour Party or the jam he appears to have run into in the ADC,” he said.
Onanuga accused Peter Obi of failing to demonstrate leadership in resolving the crisis within the Labour Party after using it to contest the 2023 presidential election.
After using the party to vie for the highest office in the country, he said, Obi “dumped it in a classic case of use-and-dump” and failed to show leadership in resolving its internal challenges.
Instead, he said Obi moved closer to his support base, describing it as “his IPOB base, the so-called Obidient movement, which is more active online.”
“You would think the man would transform the movement into a political party. But no, he didn’t do any such thing. He is just incapable of building an organic party of his own,” Onanuga stated.
He said because Obi needed a political structure to realise what he described as his “doomed dream” of winning the presidency, he sought to join another platform.
“Because he knows he needs a political structure to realise his doomed dream of winning the presidency, he shopped for a cooked soup to partake in the ensuing party,” he said.
Onanuga added that Obi subsequently moved to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he described as a “hijacked” platform, alleging that it was acquired as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) by Atiku Abubakar from Ralph Nwosu.
“No due diligence appeared to have been conducted by the new owners, and thus, the nightmare they are confronting today,” he said.
The presidential aide maintained that the crisis within the ADC has no link whatsoever to President Tinubu.
“What is the connection of Tinubu with the ADC crisis? Absolutely none. Whatever problem they have is self-inflicted,” he said.
He urged Obi and his associates to resolve internal disagreements within their new party, including issues involving Nafiu Gombe and other aggrieved members.
“Obi and his co-travellers need to get their acts together, clear the mess in their new party and then compete for the presidential ticket. Let them go and settle with Nafiu Gombe and other disenchanted ADC members,” he said.
Onanuga further downplayed Obi’s chances ahead of the 2027 election, stating that he remains politically irrelevant until he secures a party’s ticket.
“As of now, Obi, without being made a candidate, is inconsequential for 2027. The fact that he came third in 2023 does not mean he will have the same showing in 2027, if he ever becomes a candidate of any party. 2023 is not like 2027,” he said.
He added that President Tinubu, as an incumbent, has “many achievements to flaunt,” which he said Obi has failed to acknowledge.
Onanuga also dismissed claims by the Peter Obi Media Office that the Federal Government was behind crises in opposition parties or attempting to deny Obi a platform, describing such allegations as “blackmail” and “baloney.”
“All this blackmail against the President is sheer baloney, a very unfair attempt to besmirch his democratic credentials,” he said.
