Bayo Onanuga Replies To Peter Obi's Claim of FG Close-in on Him

The Presidency has described allegations by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, that he is being targeted by the government as unfounded and misleading.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on X on Wednesday, said Obi’s claims — including an incident involving his car at the airport and an assertion that he may not be alive for the January 2027 election — were fabricated to attract sympathy.

“Peter Obi’s recent claims of being targeted by the government... are simply unfounded and misleading,” Onanuga wrote. 

“As a pathological and serial liar, Mr Obi is intent on dragging the government into every personal inconvenience he encounters, often resorting to exaggeration and baseless allegations.”

Onanuga further dismissed Obi’s claim that people are being pressured not to invite him to social events, calling it “nothing more than a fabricated narrative, a page from his book of lies and propaganda.” 

He said the claims were designed to deflect attention from what he termed Obi’s “credibility deficit” and problems within his Special Purpose Vehicle and adopted political association, the NDC.

The presidential aide also addressed Obi’s interest in Fidelity Bank, noting that the institution “continues to thrive as a result of the current administration’s robust economic reforms” and that the government was not targeting the bank.

“The Tinubu government remains fully focused on consolidating its historic and beneficial reforms for the good of all Nigerians,” Onanuga stated. 

“It has neither the time nor the inclination to be distracted by Mr Obi’s self-serving narratives and lies or by his candidacy.”

What Obi said

Peter Obi’s comments that triggered Bayo Onanuga’s reaction came during an interview on the viral talk show #WithChude.

Obi Claimed of government targeting and fear for his life, alleging that the Tinubu-led government is deliberately frustrating him and that “The way the government is going now, I might not be alive”.

He said: “There’s even a possibility that, if they have the opportunity, I will not be alive”. He also claimed “They are attacking everybody who is going for the position of president. I am being attacked personally”.

The Airport incident:

Obi recounted that at the airport, officials locked his vehicle while allowing others to remain parked. He said: “I said, ‘It’s me.’ They said they didn’t care... ‘What is the exception with mine?"

Social pressure:

Obi claimed people around him are afraid to associate with him: “I now see people I know at the airport not greeting me because they are afraid that if they greet me, they will become targets of the government”.