Tinubu’s aide rejects Peter Obi’s 2027 fears as fabricated narrative
Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday dismissed Peter Obi’s recent claims that he is being targeted by the Federal Government.
Onanuga described the allegations as “unfounded and misleading.”
His reaction followed comments by the former Labour Party presidential candidate during an interview on With Chude, in which Obi alleged that the current administration was frustrating his activities and suggested he might not even be alive to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Obi said: “Not even a candidate. I might not even be alive. I’m telling you.
“Every single thing I do for a living, this government is frustrating it. Deliberately so. Everything. So, there is even a possibility, if they have the opportunity, I will not be alive.”
Obi also alleged that people were being pressured not to invite him to public events and maintained that he was being persistently targeted by the government.
Reacting in a post on X on Wednesday, Onanuga rejected the allegations, insisting that Obi was attempting to portray personal inconveniences as government persecution.
He wrote, “Peter Obi’s recent claims of being targeted by the government—citing an incident involving his car at the airport, which, by his own account, must have resulted from flouting parking regulations—are simply unfounded and misleading.
“Mr Obi is intent on dragging the government into every personal inconvenience he encounters, often resorting to exaggeration and baseless allegations.
His claim that he may not be alive for the January 2027 election and that people are being pressured not to invite him to social events is nothing more than a fabricated narrative, a page from his book of lies and propaganda.
“These claims lack substance and are designed to attract undue sympathy and deflect attention from his credibility deficit and the problems faced by his SPV and his adopted political association, the NDC.”
The presidential aide also dismissed suggestions that the Federal Government was targeting Fidelity Bank because of Obi’s interest in the financial institution.
“It is important to note that Mr Obi has a substantial interest in Fidelity Bank. The institution continues to thrive as a result of the current administration’s robust economic reforms.
“The government is certainly not targeting the bank. Rather than being ‘haunted’ by the government, Mr Obi appears to be grappling with the consequences of his litany of unfounded statements, “ Onanuga also said.
Onanuga concluded by saying the Tinubu administration remained focused on governance rather than political distractions.
“The Tinubu government remains fully focused on consolidating its historic and beneficial reforms for the good of all Nigerians.
“It has neither the time nor the inclination to be distracted by Mr Obi’s self-serving narratives and lies or by his candidacy, as he constantly diminishes himself with specious, unverifiable utterances,” he said.