…Asks Why Fidelity Bank is Thriving Under Tinubu if FG is After Obi’s Livelihood
By Franklin Adole
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has alleged that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is systematically targeting him and other opposition figures, claiming the pressure being mounted against him is so intense that he may not even be alive to contest the next presidential election.
Obi made the startling remarks during an interview on With Chude, hosted by media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, excerpts of which were released on Wednesday.
Asked whether he feared being prevented from contesting the 2027 election, the former Anambra State governor said his concern went beyond his political ambition.
“Not even a candidate. I might not even be alive. I’m telling you,” Obi said.
He alleged that virtually every aspect of his personal and professional life had come under deliberate pressure from the government.
“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,” he stated.
Obi, however, stopped short of directly accusing any individual of plotting against him, insisting that his fears were based on what he described as a consistent pattern of interference.
“It’s not an accusation. I know. I get frustration every day. Because you do things that you think would be normal—it is not normal anymore.
“They won’t come directly and say, ‘Oh, we’re doing this,’ but you can see their hand in virtually everything.”
The former Labour Party presidential candidate further alleged that he was being personally targeted alongside other opposition leaders.
“They are attacking everybody who is in opposition personally. I am being attacked personally. Everything. Even to provide me with necessary things that I should have been entitled to, not at all,” he said.
Obi cited what he described as a recent incident at an airport where officials allegedly locked his vehicle while allowing others parked in the same area to remain untouched.
“I had a case recently at the airport, where people who work in the airport came and locked my car. And I said, ‘It’s me.’ The person in charge said he doesn’t care.
“But I said, ‘Look at the cars of other people.’ And you could see them talking to each other, as if, ‘Who is this one?’”
He also claimed that many people now avoid publicly associating with him for fear of attracting government attention.
“And I see people I know at the airport, they will not greet me because they are fearing that if they greet me…”
According to him, some supporters have even pleaded with him not to attend family ceremonies to avoid possible repercussions.
“And I have people send me invitations and say, ‘My son, my daughter is getting married, but please don’t come,’” Obi said.
The former governor did not present evidence to substantiate the allegations during the interview.
Reacting swiftly, the Presidency dismissed Obi’s claims as false and politically motivated, with Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, describing the opposition leader as “a pathological and serial liar.”
In a strongly worded statement titled “Peter Obi’s New Lies,” Onanuga said Obi had developed a habit of blaming the Federal Government for every inconvenience he experiences.
He argued that Obi’s complaint about his vehicle being locked at an airport appeared to stem from a breach of parking regulations rather than any official persecution.
“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,” Onanuga said.
“As a pathological and serial liar, Mr Obi is intent on dragging the government into every personal inconvenience he encounters, often resorting to exaggeration and baseless allegations.”
The presidential spokesman also dismissed Obi’s claim that he might not live to witness the 2027 election as “a fabricated narrative.”
“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.”
Onanuga further noted that Obi has substantial interests in Fidelity Bank, insisting that the institution has continued to thrive under the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, contrary to suggestions that the government was targeting businesses linked to the opposition figure.
“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.”
He maintained that the Tinubu administration remains focused on implementing its economic reforms and has no interest in victimising Obi or obstructing his political activities.
“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,” Onanuga said.