The Presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s political career and criticised former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over comments made during his recent interview on Channels Television, accusing him of misrepresenting Tinubu’s political history, engaging in serial party defections and refusing to accept the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Presidency dismissed Obi’s comparison of his political career with that of President Tinubu, insisting that the President had remained consistent with the progressive political movement throughout his political life, unlike Obi, whom it accused of moving from one political platform to another in pursuit of his presidential ambition.
The Presidency traced Tinubu’s political journey to the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), under which he was elected senator during the aborted Third Republic after polling what it described as the highest number of votes ever recorded by a senatorial candidate in the country at the time.
It stated that following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Tinubu joined the pro-democracy movement and resisted military rule rather than collaborating with the junta.
According to the statement, Tinubu reconvened the National Assembly in defiance of the military government, participated in pro-democracy protests, endured detention and later went into exile with his family, where he continued the campaign for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria.
The Presidency further recalled that after returning from exile in 1998, Tinubu joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and was elected Governor of Lagos State in 1999. It noted that despite the internal crisis that later engulfed the party, Tinubu secured re-election in 2003 under the Independent National Electoral Commission-recognised faction, even after other AD governors lost their seats.
The statement added that Tinubu subsequently spearheaded the formation of the Action Congress (AC), which later became the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before leading merger talks with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), culminating in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.
“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion; he stayed in the same lane. He didn’t jump to the PDP after he remained the last man standing in 2003. Instead, he built a new party from the bottom up, which has grown like an oak tree from an acorn,” the Presidency stated.
In contrast, the Presidency alleged that Obi had moved across different political parties over the years.
It noted that the former Anambra State governor was elected under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and had pledged his loyalty to the party before leaving for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after completing his tenure.
According to the statement, Obi contested the 2019 presidential election as the running mate to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on the PDP platform but left the party after the election instead of remaining to rebuild it.
The Presidency further stated that Obi later joined the Labour Party to contest the 2023 presidential election but left the party following its post-election leadership crisis to align with the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general election.
It argued that Obi had consistently abandoned political parties after electoral setbacks instead of strengthening them.
“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow. It is not in doubt that if the NDC fails to deliver what you want, you are not far away from the exit door,” the statement said.
The Presidency also faulted Obi for maintaining that he won the 2023 presidential election despite the decisions of the Presidential Election Petition Court and the Supreme Court, which affirmed Tinubu’s victory.
Referring to Obi’s interview on Channels Television, the Presidency said he missed an opportunity to acknowledge the outcome of the election when asked whether he believed he had been rigged out.
“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third. More than three years after the Supreme Court threw away your petition, you are still in denial of the loss. It is time you accepted the stark reality of the loss. Stop dreaming of a victory that you never had,” the statement added.
The Presidency maintained that the 2023 presidential election had been conclusively determined by the courts and urged Obi to focus on future political engagements rather than continuing to challenge the outcome of the last election.
Obi has consistently maintained that the 2023 presidential election did not reflect the will of the Nigerian people and has continued to advocate electoral reforms to strengthen the country’s democratic process.
The former Anambra State governor has also defended his political decisions, insisting they were taken in the interest of providing credible leadership and advancing good governance.
