Tinubu Beat You Fair and Square in 2023, Brace for Another Defeat in 2027, Onanuga Tells Obi

By Franklin Adole
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga has launched a scathing attack on the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, insisting that President Bola Tinubu defeated him “fair and square” in the last general election and warning him to prepare for another electoral loss in 2027.

Onanuga, who is Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said Obi was still living in denial by claiming he won the 2023 presidential election despite the Supreme Court’s affirmation of Tinubu’s victory.

The presidential aide was reacting to an interview Obi granted on Channels Television on Sunday, during which the former Anambra State governor spoke on national issues, his political career and his 2027 presidential ambition.

In a statement issued on Monday, Onanuga dismissed Obi’s assertions, saying he abandoned the television programme about 30 minutes into the interview because it had become, in his words, “a PR disaster.”

He said two issues particularly caught his attention, beginning with Obi’s response to questions about his movement across different political parties.

According to Onanuga, Obi wrongly attempted to compare his political trajectory with that of President Tinubu.

Rejecting the comparison, he argued that Tinubu had remained consistent with progressive politics throughout his political career.

“Tinubu has not been jumping from one ideologically different party to another. Since he joined party politics in 1991/92, Tinubu has stayed on the progressive path all the way,” Onanuga said.

He recalled that Tinubu began his political journey in the Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which he won election to the Senate with what he described as the highest vote ever recorded by any candidate at the time.

Onanuga also faulted Obi’s insistence that he won the 2023 presidential election, saying the claim flies in the face of the electoral outcome and judicial pronouncements.

“You didn’t win that election. You came third, and if not for the bloc vote from your ethnic group, you would have ended up a miserable third,” he said.

The presidential spokesman noted that Obi performed creditably despite lacking nationwide political structures, apart from what he described as vocal supporters on social media platforms.

However, he expressed surprise that more than three years after the Supreme Court dismissed Obi’s petition challenging Tinubu’s victory, the former Anambra governor was still claiming he won the election.

According to Onanuga, Obi should accept the outcome of the 2023 presidential contest and stop holding on to what he described as an illusion of victory.

“It is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,” he said.