…As presidency alleges treason
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Labour Party has dissociated its 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, as well as the party from any involvement with the alleged #TinubuMustGo nationwide protest allegedly slated for August I.
LP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, warned the Presidency against roping Obi with the allegation to arrest and keep him out of circulation.
The warning is coming on the heels of series of tweets by the Presidential Aide, Bayo Onanuga, that Obi, and his supporters as well as sympathisers of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were the ones behind the much-speculated nationwide protest.
In the statement entitled: “Obi, Labour Party not involved in ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest,” the Labour Party expressed fury that the Presidency had descended so low to drag Obi’s name with an intention to blackmail him.
The statement obtained by Ikengaonline said there was no iota of truth in the claims by the Presidency but a fabricated falsehood.
LP said Obi had never been associated with any violence even in the face of provocation, wondering how such a man of peace would be linked with the said planned protest.
It read: “We say there is no truth in the tweet. It is just the figment of the author’s imagination. Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party, and it has on several occasions asked its followers to follow peace at all times.
“We are not known as a lawless group, as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election. It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi, and our supporters are not planning any protests.
“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone, for that matter, to begin to look for whom to blame for the bad governance witnessed in Nigeria today. Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the Presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics.”
Labour Party urged members of the public to disregard the unsubstantiated claims, insisting that no plot to gag Obi will ever succeed.
Reacting also, Obi’s campaign Spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, dismissed Onanuga’s claim as a plot to divert attention.
According to Tanko, it is preposterous of the Presidency to think that Nigerians cannot carry out a protest against bad governance unless provoked by the opposition.
He challenged the Presidency to face its responsibilities squarely and stop linking Obi with its failures.
Tanko argued that Nigerians are passing through severe hardship and do not need any Peter Obi to tell them what to do.
“With all due respect, is it Peter Obi who goes to the market to buy a bag of rice and beans? Why are people not being fair to this man? This thing concerns every Nigerian. We are talking about hardship that is meted out to Nigerians by this government.
“Even they themselves are feeling the pain, because distant family members will continue to come to them for money due to the hardship. Is it Obi visiting their families to tell them about the rising cost of foodstuff, including why a bag of rice suddenly rose to N80,000? If they are looking for a dog to give a bad name to hang, it is certainly not Obi.
“They should hold themselves responsible for the situation they put Nigerians in. It has nothing to do with Peter Obi. It is a reaction of the people, by the people, and for the people, which is allowed in a democracy. It is their inalienable right as Nigerians. This allegation is not true, and it is unfair. The APC government should look inward and find who to blame among themselves.”
Meanwhile, the Presidency has described calls for the nationwide protests under the hashtags #TinubuMustGo and #Revolution2024 as treasonable.
Onanuga, who accused Obi, and his supporters of spreading the hashtags, warned of severe implications.
He said the call for a revolution amounted to a civilian coup d’etat .
“If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realise they are clarion 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,” said the Presidential aide.
The presidential aide claimed that those organising the protests were also behind the #EndSARS protests of October 2020, which later turned violent.
“The protest planners are also the same people who were instigated by IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to launch the destructive EndSARS protest in Nigeria in October 2020. EndSARS began as a genuine protest by youths against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its high-handedness.
“IPOB members planning to extricate the South East region from Nigeria infiltrated the protest and hijacked it for their own agenda. Lagos still bears the scar of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements to this day. Two years after EndSARS, the IPOB, and the gullible innocents joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi, a sympathiser of their cause. They are the people spreading the hashtags #EndBadGovernance, #TinubuMustGo, and #Revolution2024. They are not democrats but anarchists.”
Onanuga told those behind the planned protest to wait for 2027 instead of wanting to “destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Tinubu.”
He named one Babatunde Gbadamosi, whom he recommended that the DSS arrest for urging people “to identify APC members, sponsors, supporters, enablers, thugs, promoters, and appointee.
Continuing, he tweeted: “There is ‘General Oluchi,’ a woman who goes by the screen name ‘A Field Marshall of the Han Dynasty.’ She has been sending out letters of mobilisation. She even pinned a ‘Week 6’ letter urging Nigerians to wake up and take control of their country, using the language of IPOB, Peter Obi, and his supporters.
“Another member of the malcontents is Brother Bernard, also known as Mikael C. Bernard. He is not based in Nigeria, because he was once busted over Binance and fraudulent crypto businesses in Nigeria. Bernard was the man who once wrote that the naira should go down to zero.”
Onanuga claimed that economic hardship is common all over the world, arguing that citizens do not retort violence.
“They don’t trigger mayhem in their countries by staging protests, the end of which nobody can predict.”
He appealed to Nigeria’s to be patient with President Tinubu, claiming that efforts are on to address the hardship in the country..
“Consider the government’s attitude and concern about the cost of living crisis when deciding whether to join the protests by the Labour Party and IPOB supporters.”
“The Tinubu government has not been found wanting in this regard. The minimum wage has been increased by more than 100 per cent. Loans are being disbursed to students in tertiary schools. A credit corporation has been launched to promote consumption credit.
“Palliatives, including the latest distribution of 740 trucks of rice to the 36 states and Abuja, are being rolled out. Businesses, such as pharmaceuticals, are being assisted. The Federal and state governments are investing heavily in agriculture to produce more food.
“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. Investors are coming back to our country. Our stock market is the best in the world, with a 33 per cent 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 wrote on his X handle.
