The Presidency has issued a stern rebuke to former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi over his recent declaration that democracy has collapsed in Nigeria, describing the claim as reckless and unfounded.
In a rebuttal published on his social media account, special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed Obi’s remarks as hyperbolic and lacking logical basis, stressing that Nigeria’s democracy remains strong after 26 years of uninterrupted civilian rule.
Obi had made the controversial statement while speaking at a colloquium in honour of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, on Monday.
According Obi, who was the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in 2023 elections, “They started in 1999, they laid the foundation, some people came and took it a decking, and some people were trying to raise it to the first floor, and some people came and knocked everything down.
“That’s the situation we are in right now. Everything has been knocked down, nothing works. And I’m somebody who can say this exemplary. I became a governor through the courts. When (former) President (Olusegun) Obasanjo and Atiku (Abubakar) were in government, I did not pay the courts, one naira, I was sitting in my house, in an office, and the court declared me winner.
“That’s cannot happen in Nigeria today. When I was being impeached, the president sent people to come and intervene on my behalf. Ken Nnamani came begged the House not to impeach me. Today, the president impeaches the person. And they were begging in my house not to impeach me and they were in PDP, I was in APGA.
“They were begging and the president (Obasanjo) was calling me and saying, Peter, are you okay? Even when I was impeached, President Obasanjo called me and said, are you okay? Are you safe?” Obi said.
He said when he returned from the court, after he was declared the winner against Andy Uba, late President (Umaru) Yar’adua called him in London and said, he should come back.
“I said, President, I can’t come back because you know if I come back this evening, he said, tell me the flight which you’re coming back. And I told him, when I came, it was the first time military people came to receive me at the airport.
“I couldn’t believe it. And they took me straight to him (Yar’adua). Now the president (referring to the present administration) will ask him not to come back here again. So he’s failed. Let’s not talk about it. Let’s talk about how we are going to rebuild it. It’s collapsing,” Obi said.
However, in its response, the presidency described Obi as one who is out of touch with the reality on ground.
“How can democracy be said to have collapsed when the same system affords Peter Obi the freedom to make such incendiary claims?” Onanuga queried. “Only someone benefiting from democracy’s freedoms while being blinded by personal grievances could make such an illogical assertion.”
The statement noted that if Nigeria were truly under an authoritarian regime as Obi suggested, he would not have had the platform to speak at a public event. The Presidency urged the former presidential candidate to exercise restraint in his utterances and avoid making sensational claims merely for political theatrics.
“If democracy had indeed collapsed, as Peter claims, and we were living under a regime antithetical to democratic principles, he would not have been able to make his comments on Monday at Emeka Ihedioha’s colloquium. I will urge him to watch what he says and restrain himself from playing to the gallery”, Onanuga warned.
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