The Presidency says the thoughts and activities of the followers of the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 Presidential election, Peter Obi, will not distract President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, who ruled out the possibility of the administration being distracted, also accused the former Anambra governor of introducing a dangerous slant to politics by deploying religious and ethnic sentiments.
Mr Onanuga spoke in a chat aired on Mic On Podcast.
Obi’s supporters (also known as the Obidients), have been critical of government’s policies since Tinubu took the baton of leadership.
However, reacting to a question on whether Obi’s politics and his followers could pose a threat to President Tinubu’s chances in 2027, Onanuga said the administration has no time to entertain thoughts about 2027 politics yet.
Asked if he believed some opponents want to intentionally sabotage the Tinubu administration, the Presidential spokesman said: “Of course, it is very clear unless people are not perceptive. Up till now, some are still writing that Bola Tinubu stole the presidency and some people are saying that the man who came third actually won the election, and they are very unapologetic about that.
He debunked the belief in some quarters that President Tinubu also employed religious tactics, especially in his choice of a deputy, noting that the choice of Vice President Shettima was basically because of his other qualities and not his religious persuasion.
He said the safe faith ticket of the APC at the polls “was not religious. You could see that the Muslim/Muslim ticket did not win him massive votes, let’s say in Borno, where his deputy came from. For the man he picked as his VP, he believe that Shettima has the qualities to be his vice president and that’s why he picked him, he was not looking at religion.
Asked to compare President Tinubu with his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, Onanuga said it would be too early to be drawing conclusions on performances as President Tinubu is barely a year in the saddle.
He however said that the two leaders have their human differences and different ways of attending to issues, noting that the former president had been unfairly judged by many commentators.
