Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has criticised former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi over comments he made during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, describing the appearance as unconvincing and politically damaging.
In a statement reacting to the interview, Onanuga said he watched about 30 minutes of the programme before deciding to stop, arguing that rather than reviving Obi’s 2027 presidential ambition, the interview had generated criticism from many viewers.
According to him, two major issues stood out during the interview: Obi’s explanation of his movement across political parties and his continued insistence that he was unfairly denied victory in the 2023 presidential election.
On the question of party defections, Onanuga said Obi attempted to downplay concerns about his political trajectory by suggesting that President Bola Tinubu had followed a similar path in his political career. He rejected that comparison, insisting that Tinubu had remained within the same ideological tradition throughout his political journey.
Onanuga traced Tinubu’s political history to the Social Democratic Party in the early 1990s, noting that he was elected senator on that platform and later became involved in the struggle against the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He said Tinubu opposed military rule, participated in pro-democracy activities, faced detention and eventually went into exile, where he continued the campaign for the restoration of democracy.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu returned to Nigeria in 1998, joined the Alliance for Democracy and was elected governor of Lagos State in 1999. He argued that even when the Alliance for Democracy later experienced internal divisions, Tinubu remained within the progressive political camp rather than joining the Peoples Democratic Party.
He further stated that Tinubu played a key role in the formation of the Action Congress, which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria and eventually merged with other opposition parties to form the All Progressives Congress in 2013.
Onanuga maintained that Tinubu consistently stayed within what he described as the progressive political family, building new political platforms rather than abandoning them for rival parties.
In contrast, he accused Obi of repeatedly changing political parties in pursuit of personal political ambition.
According to him, Obi was elected governor of Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance but later left the party for the Peoples Democratic Party after completing his second term.
He noted that Obi subsequently became the running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election under the PDP before later joining the Labour Party to contest the 2023 presidential election.
Onanuga also criticised Obi’s recent political moves following the Labour Party’s internal leadership crisis, alleging that instead of remaining in the party to help rebuild it, he sought another political platform ahead of the 2027 elections.
He claimed that Obi later aligned with opposition figures exploring new political arrangements and recently joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
According to the presidential spokesman, Obi has developed a pattern of moving from one party to another whenever circumstances become unfavourable, arguing that he prefers joining existing political structures to building enduring institutions.
The second issue raised by Onanuga concerned Obi’s comments on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
He said the Channels Television interviewer asked Obi directly whether he believed he was rigged out of the election and that Obi responded affirmatively.
Onanuga argued that Obi should have accepted the outcome of the election, pointing out that the Supreme Court dismissed his petition challenging President Tinubu’s victory.
He acknowledged that Obi performed strongly in several parts of the country despite lacking what he described as an extensive political structure across many states.
However, he expressed surprise that Obi was still disputing the result more than three years after the election, insisting that the former governor finished third behind President Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar.
Onanuga urged Obi to accept the reality of the election outcome and stop presenting himself as the rightful winner of the contest.
He argued that continuing to claim victory after the Supreme Court had ruled on the matter amounted to refusing to accept political reality.
The statement represents the latest exchange between the presidency and Obi, who has remained one of the most prominent opposition figures since the 2023 presidential election and has continued consultations ahead of the 2027 polls.
