Presidency Dismisses Obi’s Safety Concerns as “Fabricated Narrative”

BY MICHAEL AKINOLA

The Presidency has responded to safety concerns raised by Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, who said he may not be alive to contest the presidential election scheduled for January 2027.

Obi, in a viral snippet from a recent podcast, alleged that his life was under threat because the government of President Bola Tinubu was constantly frustrating and targeting him.

Reacting in a post on his X handle on Wednesday night, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, described the claims as “unfounded and misleading.”

“His claim that he may not be alive for the January 2027 election and that people are being pressured not to invite him to social events is nothing more than a fabricated narrative, a page from his book of lies and propaganda,” Onanuga said.

“These claims lack substance and are designed to attract undue sympathy and deflect attention from his credibility deficit and the problems faced by his SPV and his adopted political association, the NDC,” he added.

The presidential aide accused the NDC candidate of “dragging the government into every personal inconvenience” he encounters and resorting to “exaggeration and baseless allegations.”

He also referenced an incident Obi mentioned at an airport where officials allegedly locked his car, suggesting it may have resulted from “flouting parking regulations.”

Onanuga said Obi has “substantial interest” in Fidelity Bank and that the bank has continued to thrive under the Tinubu administration’s “robust economic reforms.”

“The government is certainly not targeting the bank. Rather than being ‘haunted’ by the government, Obi appears to be grappling with the consequences of his litany of unfounded statements,” he stated.

The presidential aide said the Tinubu government remains focused on delivering reforms for Nigerians and is not distracted by Obi’s claims.

“It (the government) has neither the time nor the inclination to be distracted by Obi’s self-serving narratives and lies or by his candidacy, as he constantly diminishes himself with specious, unverifiable utterances,” he added.