The Labour Party (LP) has distanced itself and its presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi from ‘EndBadGovernace’ and ‘Tinubu Must Go’ protests being planned nationwide against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
While the party described the allegation by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, that Obi’s supporters were behind the planned protest as a figment of his imagination, the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) said the unsubstantiated allegation was being orchestrated to arrest Obi.
In a long post on his verified X handle, Onanuga on Saturday accused Obi’s supporters of sponsoring the planned nationwide protests against Tinubu’s administration.
But in a swift reaction, the LP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said there was no truth in Onanuga’s allegation, describing the allegation as a figment of his imagination.
“We say that there is no truth in that and the tweet is just the author’s figment of his imagination.
“Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party and it has at several occasions asked its followers to follow peace at all times. We are not known as a lawless group as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election. It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. The Labour Party, Peter Obi and our supporters are not planning any protests.
“However, peaceful protests all over the world are initiated and executed by the people and not by the opposition. No opposition has any control over protests. Popular protests such as in Kenya, Egypt and several other places were a direct registration of the people’s frustration against the government. The opposition has the right to protest and it is within their constitutional right.
“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone for that matter to begin to look for who to blame for the bad governance that is being witnessed in Nigeria today. Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics.”
On its part, the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) has described Onanuga’s claim as a wild, wicked and baseless allegation.
The spokesman of POMR, Mr. Yunusa Tanko, said in a statement issued on Saturday that he gathered from a reliable authority that these unsubstantiated allegations were being orchestrated to arrest Obi, limit his freedom and association and stop his propagation for good governance, which they find injurious to their lavish lifestyle.
“Peter Obi by his mien in and out of political office has not in any way shown or been associated with violence even in the most obvious provocations.
“He has always shown even during the electioneering that he is issue-driven as he carries on without calling anybody’s name. POMR is also aware that multiple attack dogs have been hired and strategically deployed to ensure that Obi does not enjoy the ear of the Nigerian populace who are keen on hearing his voice on issues.
“These spine doctors and hirelings, to justify their pay, indulge in all kinds of falsehood ostensibly to distract Obi and confuse Nigerians who already see Obi as a suiting balm in the current turbulent political and economic environment.
“All the problems real and imagined created by their insensitivity and lavish lifestyle they have curiously tried to link to Obi. Notable challenges of the administration which are a consequence of their actions and inactions like fuel subsidy fallouts, growing poverty in the land, inflation, nepotism and unresolved historical conflicts, among others, they blame all on Obi,” Tanko explained.
Tanko urged Nigerians to ignore the Presidency’s cheap blackmail, adding that Obi and the Obidient family all over the country and in the diaspora would not be cowed or be made to lose focus.
Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha
Follow us on:
