The Presidency has told the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, to stop claiming he won the 2023 presidential election, insisting that he lost the poll and should accept the outcome.
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made the remarks in a lengthy post on X while reacting to Obi’s interview on Channels Television on Sunday.
Onanuga said he watched part of the interview but turned it off, describing it as a failed attempt to revive Obi’s 2027 presidential ambition.
According to him, Obi made several false claims during the interview, particularly when he compared his movement across different political parties with President Tinubu’s political journey.
Onanuga argued that Tinubu has remained consistent in his political ideology, saying the President followed the progressive political tradition from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Action Congress (AC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He recalled that Tinubu joined the struggle against military rule after the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, endured detention, went into exile and later returned to become Lagos State governor under the AD before helping to build the APC.
Addressing Obi directly, Onanuga said, “Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion: he stayed in the same lane.”
He contrasted that with Obi’s political journey, noting that the former Anambra State governor was elected under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) before moving to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), then the Labour Party, and later the NDC.
“You were elected Governor under the platform of APGA in 2007. You swore with your children and even by the hospital bedside of Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu that you would never leave the party. Not a man of your words, you abandoned APGA after your second term and joined the PDP,” Onanuga wrote.
He also accused Obi of abandoning political parties instead of helping to rebuild them after electoral defeats or internal crises.
“The Labour Party fell into a serious leadership crisis after the election, with campaign funds in your possession not fully accounted for. Instead of waiting to solve the crisis and rebuild it into a formidable group like a good leader would do, you again chickened out,” he stated.
Onanuga further claimed that Obi joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) before leaving for the NDC after allegedly realising he might not secure the party’s presidential ticket.
“It is not in doubt that if the NDC fails to deliver what you want, you are not far away from the exit door. You would shamelessly migrate to yet another party. You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” he added.
The presidential aide also criticised Obi for continuing to insist that he won the 2023 presidential election despite the Supreme Court’s judgment.
He said Channels Television presenter Seun Okinbaloye gave Obi an opportunity during the interview to reconsider his position on the election but that the former governor maintained he was rigged out.
“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third, and if not for the bloc vote from your ethnic group, you would have ended up a miserable third,” Onanuga said.
He added that although Obi performed well politically despite lacking widespread party structures, it was surprising that he still believed he won the election more than three years after the Supreme Court dismissed his petition.
“Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,” Onanuga stated.
The Presidency’s response came shortly after Arise Television presenter Rufai Oseni also criticised Obi’s recent television interview, arguing that the NDC presidential candidate failed to explain how he would implement many of the promises he made to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election.
Oseni had urged all presidential hopefuls to move beyond campaign promises and present detailed policy plans that Nigerians could properly scrutinise.
