Obi Has No Plan, Credibility, Path To Aso Rock – Presidency Fires Back After ‘Tinubu Must Retire’ Remark

• The Presidency launches a blistering counterattack on Peter Obi, dismissing his latest television interview as a failed attempt to revive his 2027 presidential ambition.

• Bayo Onanuga accuses the NDC presidential candidate of serial political defections, insisting President Tinubu has remained ideologically consistent throughout his political career.

• Presidential aide Frederick Nwabufo says Obi offered no alternative policy agenda, describing his comments as “sentimental nothings” lacking substance.

• Senator Adams Oshiomhole faults Obi’s understanding of the economy, accusing him of “exporting jobs and importing unemployment” while defending Tinubu’s economic reforms.

July 28, () — The Presidency, on Monday, mounted a fierce defence of President Bola Tinubu, dismissing Peter Obi’s call for the President to retire ahead of the 2027 general election and accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate of lacking the credibility, policy depth and political consistency required to lead Nigeria.

reports that the coordinated response came less than 24 hours after Obi, during an interview on MEDIA TODAY’s Sunday Politics, declared that President Tinubu was “tired”, no longer possessed the capacity to govern effectively and should step aside before the next presidential election.

Responding, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described Obi’s television appearance as a failed public relations exercise aimed at reviving a struggling presidential ambition.

In a post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956, Onanuga rejected Obi’s attempt to compare his political journey with that of President Tinubu, insisting the comparison was historically inaccurate and politically misleading.

According to him, Tinubu has remained firmly rooted in Nigeria’s progressive political tradition throughout his career.

He traced the President’s political evolution from the Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which he was elected senator during the aborted Third Republic, through his role in the pro-democracy struggle following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Onanuga recalled that Tinubu endured persecution under military rule, participated in democratic resistance, went into exile and returned in 1998 to join the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

He said that despite internal crises within the AD, Tinubu remained within the progressive family by leading the formation of the Action Congress (AC), which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before spearheading the merger that produced the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion. He stayed in the same lane”, Onanuga stated.

Drawing a sharp contrast, the presidential spokesman accused Obi of serial political defections.

He said Obi moved from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), later joined the Labour Party before the 2023 presidential election, subsequently aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and eventually emerged as the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to Onanuga, unlike Tinubu, Obi consistently abandoned political platforms instead of rebuilding them. He further alleged that Obi left APGA despite promising to remain in the party, joined the PDP to become Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2019, departed for the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 election, exited the ADC following its leadership crisis and eventually pitched his tent with the NDC.

Onanuga also urged Obi to stop questioning the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

“Mr Obi, it is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had”, he stated.

‘No Plan, No Alternative’

The Presidency’s offensive was reinforced by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Frederick Nwabufo, who argued that Obi’s television appearance exposed his inability to articulate practical solutions to Nigeria’s problems.

In a post on his verified X handle, @FredrickNwabufo, the presidential aide said the interview demonstrated that the NDC candidate lacked policy depth.

“Peter Obi’s interview shows him again to be vacant of deep thought, understanding of governance, and taken up by syrupy rhetoric. He still has no plan, no alternative, and no policy plank, beyond a mouthful of sentimental nothings,” Nwabufo wrote.

He also criticised Obi’s repeated promise to unite Nigeria, saying the former Anambra State governor failed to explain how such national cohesion would be achieved.

According to Nwabufo, genuine unity can only be built through inclusive governance, economic integration and equal opportunities for all Nigerians. He argued that President Tinubu’s administration has demonstrated those principles through equitable distribution of projects across the six geopolitical zones and appointments reflecting Nigeria’s diversity.

Nwabufo also defended the administration’s appointments of young professionals into strategic government positions, describing them as unprecedented in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Oshiomhole: Obi Doesn’t Understand the Economy

Joining the attack, Senator Adams Oshiomhole dismissed Obi’s criticism of the Tinubu administration, insisting the NDC presidential candidate lacks a proper understanding of Nigeria’s economic realities.

Speaking during a television programme, the former Edo State governor argued that President Tinubu inherited an economy that was “virtually grounded” and had no choice but to implement difficult reforms to prevent a total economic collapse.

Oshiomhole further accused Obi of approaching economic issues solely from the perspective of commerce rather than industrial development.

“Obi is not aware because he is busy trading. His business is to export jobs and import unemployment into the country. That is what he lives for. He is a trader,” the senator said.

According to him, sustainable economic growth depends on expanding domestic manufacturing, industrialisation and infrastructure rather than import-dependent trading activities.

He also argued that Obi’s strong showing during the 2023 presidential election was largely driven by public anger over the naira redesign and cash scarcity policy implemented during the closing months of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, as well as internal disagreements within the APC.

Questioning Obi’s record as governor of Anambra State, Oshiomhole said anyone who failed to completely transform a state after eight years in office could not credibly promise to fix Nigeria within a single presidential term.

The Presidency’s coordinated response followed Peter Obi’s appearance on MEDIA TODAY’s Sunday Politics, where the NDC presidential candidate declared that President Bola Tinubu was “tired” and should retire ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Obi argued that the administration had failed to tackle worsening insecurity, poverty, hunger and economic hardship, insisting Nigeria required a more energetic and visionary leadership.

His comments have triggered a barrage of responses from the Presidency and senior APC figures, signalling an early escalation of political hostilities as the race towards the 2027 general election begins to gather momentum.