Jul 27, 2026

Onanuga Blasts Obi Interview as PR Disaster Over Party Switches

By Afolabi Olaiya Idowu in politics

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Abuja, Nigeria – July 27, 2026—Presidential Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has launched a sharp critique of former Anambra Governor Peter Obi, describing his recent Channels Television interview as a public relations disaster that exposed inconsistencies in his political journey and lingering denial of the 2023 election outcome.

In a detailed post on X on Monday, Onanuga said he watched only about 30 minutes of Obi’s conversation with host Seun Okinbaloye before switching off.

He argued that instead of re-energising Obi’s 2027 presidential ambitions under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), the appearance triggered widespread negative reactions over what he called “many lies.”

Onanuga focused first on Obi’s response to questions about his frequent party changes. Obi reportedly tried to downplay the issue by comparing himself to President Bola Tinubu. Onanuga rejected the comparison outright.

He traced Tinubu’s political history from the early 1990s: starting with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), where he won a Senate seat; resisting military rule after the June 12, 1993, annulment; joining the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and serving two terms as Lagos governor; founding the Action Congress (later ACN); and helping form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013 through mergers. Onanuga emphasized that Tinubu remained within the progressive fold and built structures rather than abandoning them.

By contrast, Onanuga listed Obi’s moves: elected Anambra governor under APGA in 2006/2007 after earlier legal battles and publicly vowing loyalty to the party (including at the bedside of Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu); later joining the PDP and running as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in 2019; defecting to the Labour Party for the 2023 presidential race; then shifting to the African Democratic Congress before landing in the NDC. He accused Obi of abandoning parties during crises instead of rebuilding them and suggested the pattern of leaving when convenient continues.

“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” Onanuga wrote.

The second issue Onanuga highlighted was Obi’s continued insistence that he was rigged out in 2023. Seun Okinbaloye asked whether Obi believed the election was stolen.

Onanuga said Obi agreed, despite finishing third behind Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, and more than three years after the Supreme Court dismissed his petition.

Onanuga acknowledged Obi performed strongly for a candidate without deep state structures, relying heavily on social media support and ethnic bloc votes, but insisted it is time for Obi to accept the reality of the loss rather than nurse “the delusion that you won the election.”

Obi’s Channels TV appearance came as he positions himself for 2027 under the NDC. In the interview, he reportedly pledged to serve only a single four-year term (linked to an understanding with potential running mate Rabiu Kwankwaso), called on President Tinubu to retire, citing economic and security challenges, and discussed realistic power-sector goals.

Onanuga’s response fits a pattern of pointed exchanges between the presidential adviser and Obi in recent months, covering issues from one-term pledges to claims of political targeting.

Reactions on X have been polarized, with some supporters of the government praising the detailed historical contrast and others dismissing the post as predictable partisan attack.

As Nigeria’s political temperature rises toward 2027, the exchange underscores the sharp personal and ideological contest between the Tinubu administration and one of its most prominent critics.

Whether Onanuga’s critique damages Obi’s momentum or galvanises his base remains to be tested in the months ahead.