…Vow to resist any plot to undermine his ambition
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Special Adviser on Policy Communication to President Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has come under fire over his media boast that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, would not get the ticket of any party in 2027.
Bwala made the boast while featuring on Channels Television on Wednesday.
But Obi’s supporters, fondly known as the Obidients, have faulted Bwala over the remark and vowed to resist any attempt to sabotage or undermine Obi’s 2027 presidential ambition.
The Obidients also knocked Bwala for saying that Obi would only serve as a Director-General in the coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Bwala also claimed that Obi had lost 50% of his voters in 2023, adding that in 2027, President Tinubu would get up to 2 million votes from the South-East, hitherto considered Obi’s stronghold.
He said: “As I tell you, he’s not going to get a ticket in any of the parties. That is Peter Obi. The problem now is that he might not even get the vice-presidential ticket from the way things are going. Whether Peter Obi is a ticket bearer of the party or not, he has lost more than 50% of his votes because they were not votes that were built on agenda and politics. They were built on rhetoric and division, and Nigerian people’s eyes are open.
“You see the South-East, I guarantee you, President Bola Tinubu is going to get more than four times, if not six times, the value of the vote he got. He’ll get up to two million.”
Piqued by the remarks of the presidential aide, one of the State Coordinating Council Collegiate team members of the Obidients Movement in Abia State, Dr. Chibuzor Obiesili, said, “Bwala is living in self-denial.”
Crying foul over the remarks, Obiesili said such comments suggest a sinister plan by some powers to scuttle Obi’s presidential ambition.
“Such emphatic statement by Bwala that Obi would not get any party’s ticket is suspicious,” he said.
Obiesili challenged the presidency “to come clean on the suspicious remark or be held accountable for it.”
He asked: “Is Bwala now telling Nigerians that the presidency determines who gets a party ticket in 2027?”
Obiesili faulted Bwala’s claims that Obi had lost 50% of his South-East voters, dismissing the claims as “wishful thinking and empty political hallucination.”
“Obi’s support and followership are not only intact but swelling nationwide,” he enthused.
“Bwala should stop hallucinating. Obi is not losing but gaining more support. His national appeal is so organic that even those who were not part of it before are now among the key drivers,” he claimed.
He said that “the Obidients Movement is stronger now among states and regions which were not supportive in 2023, having realised the truth.”
“In case Bwala is not aware, many Nigerians who were deceived by APC’s fake change in 2023 are now more Obedient than the Obidients.
“2023 was Obi wave but 2027 shall be Obi tsunami because Nigerian voters now know and understand better. Like Bwala rightly mentioned in his TV show, the eyes of voters have opened. They have realised that the change promised by APC is not real change; it’s chain!”
Continuing, Obiesili said, “Bwala will be living in self-denial if he thinks Obi won’t be on the 2027 ballots,” adding that “nobody is more presidential material than Obi.”
He wondered why “Obi is always the headache of the presidency if truly his popularity is waning, as Bwala and his fellow foot soldiers are purporting.”
“The presidency should stop pretending. It’s obvious that Obi’s ever-increasing popularity and national acceptance have remained their nightmare. But Nigerians are resolute about the coming tsunami that will birth the desired change.”
According to him, the building momentum for Obi is informed by his dream for a new Nigeria where accountability, transparency, and performance will be cherished.
“The Obidients Movement is about a new Nigeria. It’s a national project to rescue Nigeria from political hijackers and reset the country; it’s a patriotic movement to make Nigeria great again! It’s a movement that is blind to tribe, religion, or culture. All patriotic citizens who believe in Nigeria are queuing behind the movement,” he said.
He also told the presidency to stop making false claims of imaginary votes for Tinubu ahead of 2027, alleging that such wild claims have suspicious motives.
“Bwala’s claims of 2 million votes for Tinubu in the South East are as suspicious as Dr. Nicolas Felix’s boast of 15 million votes for the President in 2027. The presidency should not forget that Tinubu lost the South East in 2023, and his policies have not made life better for the citizens in that region or in any region to generate the imaginary millions of votes they are claiming. This is suspicious and calls for explanations.”
Obiesili expressed confidence that Nigeria would be fixed if Obi is given the opportunity to superintend over the country in 2027.
