By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Presidency has launched a fresh attack on the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, describing his recent appearance on Channels Television as a “public relations disaster” and accusing him of distorting facts about his political career and the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
In a lengthy post on X on Monday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Obi’s interview failed to revive what he described as the former Anambra State governor’s “ebbing 2027 presidential ambition.”
According to Onanuga, Obi made misleading comparisons between his movement across political parties and President Bola Tinubu’s political trajectory.
“Tinubu has not been jumping from one ideologically different party to another. Since he joined party politics in 1991/92, Tinubu has stayed on the progressive path all the way,” Onanuga wrote.
He argued that Tinubu had remained within the same progressive political tradition throughout his career, tracing his political journey from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC).
By contrast, Onanuga alleged that Obi had repeatedly switched political parties to advance his personal ambitions.
“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” he said, accusing Obi of moving from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then to the Labour Party (LP), and now aligning with another political platform.
The presidential aide also criticised Obi for maintaining that he won the 2023 presidential election despite the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming Tinubu’s victory.
“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third,” Onanuga wrote.
He urged the former Anambra governor to “accept the stark reality of the loss” and “stop dreaming of a victory that you never had.”
Onanuga further alleged that Obi had failed to strengthen the political parties he joined, claiming he abandoned each platform once it no longer aligned with his political aspirations.
The Presidency’s response followed Obi’s interview on Channels Television on Sunday, during which the former Labour Party presidential candidate defended his movement across political parties, insisting that his political decisions had been guided by national interest rather than personal ambition.
Obi also reiterated his long-held position that the 2023 presidential election did not reflect the will of the Nigerian people. He has consistently maintained that view since challenging the outcome of the election at the Presidential Election Petition Court and subsequently at the Supreme Court, which ultimately dismissed his appeal and affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu.
The latest exchange underscores the intensifying political rhetoric ahead of the 2027 general election, with both the Presidency and opposition figures increasingly engaging in public exchanges over their political records, party affiliations, and competing narratives surrounding the 2023 presidential poll.