The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, played down former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, saying he was a politician who does not have the leadership credentials required to govern Nigeria.
Onanuga’s comments came in the wake of Obi’s formal defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday, effectively ending his association with the Labour Party, under which he contested the 2023 presidential election.
Peter Obi, move to the ADC has since sparked speculation that he may be positioning himself as a possible running mate to Atiku, who is widely believed to be preparing for another presidential bid in the 2027 elections.
Onanuga in a post on this X handle, stated that he watched Obi’s formal entry into the ADC and described him as a “wandering politician” who had moved from the All Progressives Grand Alliance to the PDP, then to the Labour Party, and now to the ADC.
“At the event, Obi’s bitterness was obvious. What troubled me most were his repeated references to books, professors and foreign countries to justify his belief that he has learned from the best and should therefore be entrusted with leading Nigeria,” Onanuga wrote.
“Because Obi clearly lacks leadership pedigree beyond being a successful importer, only the madman he consults in Onitsha would be comfortable handing Nigeria over to him,” Onanuga said further adding Nigerians should take his all his claims “with a pinch of salt”.
“No country develops by copying and pasting what others have done. Nations need original thinkers, not copycats. Homegrown solutions are critical for sustainable development,” he said criticising Obi’s line of reasoning to countries development
He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration had embarked on far-reaching economic reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidies and efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on oil.
“With tax reforms set to begin in January, the Tinubu administration aims to harmonise Nigeria’s fragmented tax system, raise the tax-to-GDP ratio, boost revenue and drive prosperity,” he said, adding that the president had shown decisive leadership through strategic policies and reforms over the past two years and seven months.
“Obi is so blind to these achievements that he jumped from Labour to ADC, where he will end up playing second fiddle and once again serve as Atiku’s running mate in 2027,” Onanuga concluded predicting that Obi would eventually emerge as Atiku’s running mate in 2027, as he did in 2019.
