Onanuga accuses Peter Obi’s supporters of plotting nationwide protests
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga has accused supporters of Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s former presidential candidate, of planning nationwide protests and potential unrest in Nigeria.
In a statement on his X post, Onanuga alleged that these supporters are responsible for the anticipated disruptions and should be held accountable.
“Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” Onanuga stated.
Onanuga linked the current protest organizers to those who, under the influence of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, instigated the destructive ENDSARS protests in October 2020.
He noted that while ENDSARS began as a genuine movement against police brutality, it was hijacked by IPOB elements for their agenda. “Lagos still bears the scar of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements until today,” he added.
He further claimed that IPOB members, along with gullible individuals, joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi.
“They are the people spreading the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance,’ ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ and ‘Revolution2024’. They are not democrats but anarchists,” Onanuga asserted.
He accused them of attempting to destabilize Nigeria because Obi did not win the 2023 presidential election.
Onanuga warned that the calls for mass protests are effectively calls for treason.
“Wanting to end an elected government is high treason. Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason,” he said.
He also mentioned tracking one protest planner who claims to run an internet radio station, PTM100.88 Abuja, and has been actively encouraging protests on X.
Onanuga noted, “In the past 24 hours, this faceless X user has been whipping up the gullible to join the protest being planned and also posting the activities of his Messiah, Peter Obi.”
Onanuga called for security agents to interrogate these “agents of destabilisation,” stating that civilised and democratic people should wait for the next election to make leadership changes rather than triggering mayhem.
He urged Nigerian citizens to consider the government’s efforts to address the cost of living crisis before joining any protests.
He highlighted the Tinubu government’s actions, including a significant increase in the minimum wage, student loans, and palliative measures such as distributing 740 trucks of rice to states and Abuja.
“The economy is improving, inflation is slowing, the national debt has been reduced in dollar terms, and the FIRS has increased revenue generation to record levels,” Onanuga stated, adding that Nigeria’s stock market is currently the best in the world with a 33 percent return on investment.
“President Tinubu has a four-year mandate to run his agenda. Those calling for protest should wait till 2027 to either re-elect him or elect their Messiah, Mr Peter Obi,” Onanuga concluded.
