Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has launched a fresh attack on Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing his recent interview on Channels Television as a public relations disaster and accusing him of distorting facts about his political career and the outcome of the last presidential election.
In a lengthy post shared on X on Monday, Onanuga said he stopped watching Obi’s interview after about 30 minutes, arguing that rather than revive his perceived 2027 presidential ambition, the appearance generated widespread criticism over what he described as “many lies.”
> “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 said two major issues stood out during the interview.
The first, according to him, was Obi’s response when Channels Television anchor Seun Okinbaloye questioned him about frequently changing political parties. He faulted Obi’s attempt to compare his political movement across parties with the political journey of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the presidential spokesman, Tinubu has remained within the progressive political tradition throughout his career, beginning with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), before moving through the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually becoming one of the founding leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion: he stayed in the same lane. He didn’t jump to the PDP in 2003… Instead, he built a new party from the bottom up, which has grown like an oak tree from an acorn.”
Onanuga contrasted this with Obi’s political trajectory, noting that the former Anambra State governor was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), became the PDP vice-presidential candidate in 2019, moved to the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 election and has now aligned with another political platform.
Addressing Obi directly, he wrote: “You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow.”
Onanuga also alleged that Obi failed to remain in political parties to rebuild them after electoral setbacks or internal crises, insisting that his pattern has been to move to new platforms whenever they no longer serve his political interests.
The presidential aide also revisited the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, saying Obi should stop claiming he was denied victory.
He argued that the Supreme Court had already settled the matter and urged the Labour Party leader to accept the election result.
“Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had.”
Onanuga maintained that although Obi performed creditably in the election despite having limited political structures across the country, he came third in the final results and should move on from the contest rather than continue insisting he was the rightful winner.
The comments add to the ongoing political exchanges between supporters of President Tinubu and Obi as discussions over the 2027 general election continue to gather momentum.