‘A PR disaster’ — Presidency knocks Peter Obi over TV interview
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By Enitan Abdultawab
The Presidency has criticised Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general elections, Peter Obi, describing his recent interview on Channels Television as a “PR disaster” while accusing him of making false claims and refusing to accept the outcome of the last presidential election.
In a lengthy post shared on X on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said he watched about 30 minutes of Obi’s interview before switching it off, claiming the former Anambra State governor’s media appearance failed to revive what he described as his “ebbing” 2027 presidential ambition.
“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 wrote.
One of the major issues raised by the presidential spokesman was Obi’s comparison of his political journey with that of President Bola Tinubu.
During the interview, Obi had reportedly argued that his movement across political parties was no different from Tinubu’s political trajectory.
However, Onanuga dismissed the comparison, insisting that Tinubu had remained ideologically consistent throughout his political career despite changes in party platforms.
According to him, Tinubu moved 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), maintaining what he described as a progressive political ideology throughout.
By contrast, Onanuga accused Obi of repeatedly switching political parties to pursue personal political ambitions.
He recalled that Obi was elected governor of Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) before defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he became Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election. Following the PDP’s defeat, Obi later joined the Labour Party to contest the 2023 election.
Onanuga further alleged that Obi abandoned the Labour Party after it became embroiled in internal leadership disputes and later aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC)-led coalition before reportedly moving to another political platform.
“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide also criticised Obi over his comments on the 2023 presidential election, arguing that the former governor was still unwilling to accept the verdict of both the electorate and the courts.
According to Onanuga, Channels Television anchor Seun Okinbaloye gave Obi an opportunity during the interview to clarify his position on the election, but he instead maintained that he believed he was denied victory.
“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third,” Onanuga wrote, adding that the Supreme Court had already dismissed Obi’s petition challenging President Tinubu’s victory.
He argued that Obi’s continued insistence that he won the election reflected what he described as a refusal to accept reality more than three years after the polls.
Concluding his remarks, Onanuga urged the former Labour Party presidential candidate to move on from the 2023 election and stop, in his words, “dreaming of a victory” he never had.
The post ‘A PR disaster’ — Presidency knocks Peter Obi over TV interview appeared first on Vanguard News.
