The Special Adviser to the President on Information and
Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has reacted to statements credited to the presidential
candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, saying
it was unfortunate that he was casting aspersions on the judiciary, which gave
him victory as governor of Anambra State.
Replying to Obi, Onanuga said the Presidency is at a loss as
to how the copycat Obi and his faction of the Labour Party convinced themselves
they won an election in which they came a distant third.
He advised that Obi and his party should come to terms with
the Supreme Court judgement, start playing the role of the opposition and start
preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027.
According to the presidential aide, they are optimistic that
by then he will campaign on issues and not whip up religious and ethnic
sentiments as he did in the last campaign.
The presidential aide also said the grand delusion that made
Obi believe he could have won a national election where he ran the most
hateful, divisive, and polarising campaign that pitched Christians against
Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and
multi-religious society like Nigeria should be a matter for deeper examination.
He accused Obi of addressing a press conference on Monday,
where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos,
noting that he (Obi) contradicted himself.
Onanuga stated: “Here was a beneficiary of judicial
pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgement
did not go his way.
“Mr Obi claimed the Supreme Court justices didn’t consider
public opinion in delivering what has been applauded as a most profound
judgement in an election appeal where the Labour Party candidate presented the
most watery and unreasonable petition before any court in the history of
electoral cases in Nigeria.
“He made false allegations of rigging and other electoral
malpractices yet could not produce any evidence to back up his claims at both the
court of first instance and at the apex court. In a failed effort to mobilise
and retain the support of his supporters, Obi gave them a forlorn hope that he
won the election and would prove it before the courts. Throughout the trial,
his lawyers didn’t present any alternative results different from the results
INEC uploaded on the IReV portal and the ones signed by all party agents from
the 176,000 polling units.
“We wonder how the Labour Party candidate expected the
courts to do justice on the basis of rumours, lies, and false narratives by
sponsored partisans and fanatical members of his Obidient Movement.
“We expected the Labour Party candidate to know that the
Supreme Court or any other court does not give judgement based on public
opinion and mob sentiments. Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence,
precedents, and the rule of law.”
He added that, having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling
brought an end to litigation and any challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and
pledged his support in the spirit of statesmanship.
Onanuga said again: “But instead, he brought up extraneous
matters that he thought the apex court should have considered to declare him
the winner. In our view, the drowning Obi, just like Atiku, was merely
attempting to hold on to a straw in raking up new allegations, which exist only
in his imagination and that of his hordes of supporters.
“Our admonition to Mr Peter Obi is to find another
worthwhile vocation to engage his time henceforth, having been rejected by
majority of Nigerians who didn’t consider him qualified to lead our country.
“Nigerians rejected Peter Obi and his demagoguery at the
poll because he posed present and future danger to the peace, progress, and
stability of our country.
“Obi’s antecedents as Governor of Anambra for eight years
didn’t inspire any confidence as someone capable of running a country like
Nigeria. No tangible record of achievement in the state he governed recommended
him for the Presidency of Nigeria.
“If Mr Peter Obi truly believes in Nigeria, the time to
prove it is now when all men and women of goodwill are rallying support for
President Tinubu in his determination to lead a new era of prosperity,
inclusive governance, and economic growth in Nigeria.
“Finally, we welcome Obi and his party to play the role of
the opposition and start preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027.
We hope by then he would campaign on issues and not whip up religious and
ethnic sentiments as he did in the last campaign.”
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