The recent defection of former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has triggered a fierce verbal exchange between the Presidency and the camp of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Reacting to remarks by Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Atiku’s Special Adviser on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, accused Aso Rock of panicking over the evolving political landscape ahead of the 2027 general election.
Naijaonpoint reports that Onanuga had earlier claimed that Obi still sounded bitter about coming third in 2023, even though empirical analyses of the poll showed he could not have won and was fortunate to emerge third due to what Onanuga described as anomalous polling figures recorded in the Southeast region.
“At his event, Obi’s bitterness was evident. What concerned me most were his references to books, professors, and other nations to buttress his belief that he has learnt from the masters and that Nigeria should be entrusted to him because he claims to know the secrets of national development,” Onanuga said.
He dismissed ...uring, saying it should be taken with a pinch of salt, coming from a politician he described as an abysmal failure in Anambra State, which he governed for eight years.
“Because Obi sorely lacks the leadership pedigree, beyond being a successful importer, only the madman he consults in Onitsha would be comfortable handing over Nigeria to him,” the presidential aide said.
Shaibu, in his reaction to Onanuga’s statement issued on Wednesday, said, “As media adviser to President Bola Tinubu, this outburst says more about panic in Aso Rock than it does about Peter Obi.”
Shaibu criticised Onanuga’s tone, describing it as defensive and lacking the decorum expected from a presidential spokesperson.
“You did not write as a media manager; you wrote as a defender under pressure. And pressure replaces reason with ridicule and facts with abuse,” he stated.
He also described Onanuga’s comments on Obi’s political movement as hypocritical.
“Calling Obi ‘wandering’ while defending an administration built on political migrations and elite bargains is hypocrisy dressed up as commentary. Nigerian politics has never been a monastery. You know this,” Shaibu said.
Shaibu rejected attempts to dismiss concerns over the 2023 elections, insisting that questions about the electoral process remain widespread and legitimate.
“Your attempt to brand legitimate electoral grievances as ‘bitterness’ is not analysis; it is damage control. Millions of Nigerians questioned the 2023 process. You can sneer at them, but you cannot erase them,” he said.
He further condemned what he called the rising use of insults in official government communication.
“When government communication descends into name-calling, it is usually because results are scarce and anger is abundant,” he added.
Addressing economic policies, Shaibu said the administration’s claims of reform do not match the lived realities of Nigerians.
“You praise ‘homegrown solutions’ while celebrating reforms Nigerians experience only as hunger, insecurity, and collapsing livelihoods. Propaganda does not change lived reality,” he stated.
In response to speculation that Obi would play a secondary role in any potential alliance, Shaibu dismissed the notion, saying no such hierarchy exists.
“Your confidence that Obi will ‘play second fiddle’ to Atiku is pure fiction. There is no ticket, no candidate, no imposed hierarchy. What exists is a coalition conversation, and that is what truly unsettles you,” he said.
He stressed that the real power lies with the Nigerian people.
“Insults don’t win elections, spin doesn’t fill stomachs, and arrogance does not intimidate hungry people. Nigerians will decide in 2027, not media advisers, not propaganda merchants,” Shaibu said.