Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, has criticised Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, following his interview on Channels Television, alleging that the appearance failed to revive Obi’s political standing ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a post shared on social media, Onanuga said he stopped watching the interview after about 30 minutes because he believed it was filled with false claims.
“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,” Onanuga wrote.
He said one of the issues that caught his attention was Obi’s response when asked about changing political parties.
According to Onanuga, Obi claimed he had done nothing different from President Bola Tinubu, which he, Onanuga, disagrees with.
“No, Mr Obi. Tinubu has not been jumping from one ideologically different party to another,” Onanuga said.
He argued that Tinubu had remained on what he described as the progressive political path, moving from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and later helping to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Onanuga also defended Tinubu’s role during the June 12 struggle, saying the President opposed military rule, went into exile and later returned to help build political parties that eventually became the APC.
He accused Obi of moving from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then to the Labour Party, aligning with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) before joining the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” Onanuga told Obi.
The presidential spokesman also criticised Obi over his comments on the 2023 presidential election.
He said Channels Television presenter Seun Okinbaloye gave Obi the chance to address the outcome of the election, stressing that Obi still claimed that he was denied victory despite the Supreme Court’s judgment.
“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third,” Onanuga said.
He urged the former Anambra State governor to accept the election result and move on.
“Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,” Onanuga added.
Obi was yet to respond publicly to Onanuga’s comments.
