…Says Administration’s Performance Has Voided Ex-Anambra Governor’s Political Threat
By Yinka Giwa
The Presidency has dismissed suggestions that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is worried about the political challenge posed by the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, insisting that the government is confident in its record ahead of the 2027 general election.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the administration has no reason to fear Obi, arguing that the government’s performance has significantly diminished the former Anambra State governor’s political influence.
Speaking on the latest edition of Mic On Podcast, Dare maintained that while Obi may once have been regarded as a formidable political challenger, the Tinubu administration now stands on what he described as “solid ground of performance.”
According to him, the Presidency was merely exercising its democratic right in responding to Obi’s recent call for President Tinubu to resign, stressing that there was no constitutional or political basis for such a demand.
“The same right he has to ask Tinubu to resign is the same right the government has to respond to him that the president will not resign. There is no basis or reason for the president to resign,” Dare said.
He added that Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy with elections held every four years, providing citizens the opportunity to elect leaders at all levels rather than seek extra-constitutional changes in government.
Dare further dismissed claims that the Presidency viewed Obi as a nightmare, saying the former presidential candidate no longer posed a significant electoral threat.
“He is not a nightmare. Maybe before, Peter Obi was a threat, but right now, Peter Obi is no threat because we stand on solid ground of performance. We are able to interrogate the problems of this country,” he stated.
The presidential spokesman also expressed confidence that Obi would not repeat his 2023 electoral success over Tinubu in Lagos State, declaring that the President’s political standing in the state remained strong ahead of the next election cycle.