President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has reacted to the recent political move by former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, offering a critical assessment of Obi’s decision and his continued commentary on the 2023 general election.
Onanuga stated that he observed Peter Obi formally align himself with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), noting that this came after Obi distanced himself from the Labour Party, which he had relied on to prosecute his unsuccessful presidential bid.
He remarked that nearly three years after the 2023 election, Obi remained resentful about finishing third in the contest and continued to insist that he was unfairly denied victory.
According to Onanuga, available empirical assessments of the election results indicated that Obi did not have a realistic path to winning the poll and was, in fact, fortunate to have placed third, particularly given what he described as irregular voting patterns recorded in the South East.
Onanuga further observed that Obi’s disposition at the event reflected lingering bitterness. He expressed concern over Obi’s repeated references to academic works, scholars, and foreign countries as justification for presenting himself as uniquely qualified to lead Nigeria.
He cautioned that such claims should be treated skeptically, arguing that they were coming from a politician whose tenure as governor of Anambra State for eight years, in his view, amounted to poor performance.
Further talking, he said, “Because Obi sorely lacks the leadership pedigree, beyond being a successful importer, only the madman he consults in Onitsha would be comfortable handing over Nigeria to him.
“However, Obi’s reasoning is flawed. Nations are not identical, and what worked in Indonesia or the USA may not necessarily work in Nigeria. No leader can move a country forward by simply copying and pasting models from elsewhere. Nations require original thinkers, not copycats. Homegrown solutions are essential for proper development.”
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