Presidency points finger at Obi’s supporters over planned protests

Yesterday, the Presidency pointed fingers at supporters of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi, accusing them of orchestrating a forthcoming nationwide protest against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Presidency has called on security agencies to thoroughly investigate these individuals, whom it labels as “agents of destabilization,” and has cautioned Nigerians against being misled by their agenda.

However, in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh yesterday, the opposition party denied any involvement by it or its former presidential candidate in the planned protest.

In a lengthy post on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956,

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed that the same individuals who hijacked the 2020 ENDSARS protests are behind the planned demonstrations, spreading hashtags like ‘EndBadGovernance’ and ‘Tinubu Must Go.’

Onanuga, who described the masterminds as “anarchists” and “bad losers” who cannot wait for the 2027 elections but instead seeking to destabilise Nigeria through a “civilian coup, also asked that Obi be held responsible if the protests turn into anarchy. The Presidency identified several key figures, including a faceless internet radio station owner and a Labour Party chief, as being involved in the planned protests.

Onanuga warned that the protesters’ calls for “revolution” and “ending an elected government” amount to high treason and urged security agencies to take action against those threatening the country’s stability.

The post he tagged “REVEALED: Peter Obi’s supporters are the people planning mayhem in Nigeria: Obi should be held responsible for anarchy”, recalled how a similar call for protest in 2020 was hijacked by other elements, leaving the nation’s economic hub, Lagos State, reeling in massive destruction and looting of public and private property.

Onanuga said: “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.

“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 until today.

“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’, ‘Tinubu Must Go,’ and ‘Revolution2024’. They are not democrats but anarchists.

“They are attempting to call out our people via propaganda because their Messiah, Peter Obi, failed to win the Presidency in the 2023 election.

“As bad losers, they don’t have the patience to wait for another election in 2027; they would rather destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“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.

I have been on the trail of one of the protest planners, who is nameless but claims to have an internet radio station, PTM100.88 Abuja.

“The anonymous person joined X in August 2022 and has 520 followers today, among whom are FS Yusuf, another rabid Obi supporter, and Prof. Pat Utomi, a Labour Party chief, and a guy on X who goes by the pseudonym Peter Obi’s First Son.

“PTM’s profile image has someone holding the inscription` Certificate Forger Not My President, ‘with a photo of Peter Obi as an inset.

“Only Obi’s supporters will be talking about certificate forgery long after the Supreme Court dismissed the allegation.

“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. He retweets Peter Obi often.

“In one of the posts, a video shows a teenager, who is said to be in the North, printing T-shirts emblazoned with ‘EndBadGovernance in Nigeria 2024’.

“There is also a retweeted post by Babatunde Gbadamosi, a failed and frustrated politician in Lagos.

“In it, he refers to his earlier post urging people “to identify APC members, sponsors, supporters, enablers, thugs, promoters, and appointees.

“The police and DSS ought to have arrested the man for making a brazen threat to political opponents,” Onanuga said.

The presidential spokesman emphasised that every country faces economic challenges, but civilised nations address leadership concerns through elections, not violent protests.

He further highlighted the government’s efforts to address the cost of living crisis, including over 100% increase in minimum wage, student loans, and palliatives such as food distribution.

He also noted improvements in the economy, including reduced inflation, increased revenue generation and a booming stock market.

The Presidency, however, urged citizens to consider these efforts before joining protests and warned that those calling for demonstrations should wait until the 2027 elections to effect leadership change.

“Security agents should, by now, begin to interrogate these agents of destabilisation. There is no country in the world where people are not going through some economic challenges and where the cost of living is not a major issue.

“No country is immune from economic turbulence at the moment. Civilised and democratic people wait for another election to make leadership changes.

‘They don’t trigger mayhem in their countries by staging protests, the end of which nobody can predict.

“Nigerian citizens must 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.”

Labour Party denies involvement in planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest

But Labour Party said yesterday that its former presidential candidate Peter Obi and the party are not part of the planned EndBadGovernance protest.

A statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said: “The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to a tweet purportedly from one of the presidential aides, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, linking the Labour Party, its national leader Peter Obi and very many notable figures in our party to the proposed ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest.

“We say that there is no truth in that and the tweet is just the author’s figment of his imagination.

“Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party and it has at 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.

“However, peaceful protests all over the world are initiated and executed by the people and not by the opposition.

“No opposition has any control over protests. Popular protests such as in Kenya, Egypt and several other places were a direct registration of the people’s frustration against the government.

“The people have the right to protest and it is within their constitutional right.

“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone for that matter to begin to look for who to blame for the bad governance that is being 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.”

Protest allegation by presidency ploy to arrest Obi —Media office

In a separate statement also yesterday, the Peter Obi Media Reach dismissed the allegation linking the former Anambra State governor with the planned protest.

The media office described the allegation by Presidential Media Aide, Bayo Onanuga as wild, wicked and baseless.

The statement signed by the Peter Obi Media Reach spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, said the presidency was planning to use the planned protest to arrest its former presidential candidate, Obi.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Peter Obi Media Reach, POMR, has been drawn to the wild, wicked and baseless allegations by one of the spokespersons in the Presidency, Bayo Onanuga, accusing the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, of being the mastermind of a planned protest in the country.

“The statement even said that Obi should be held responsible for any mayhem that may occur in the protest. But POMR can report from good and reliable authority that these unsubstantiated allegations are being orchestrated to arrest Obi, limit his freedom and association and stop his propagation for good governance which they find injurious to their lavish lifestyle.

“Peter Obi by his mien in and out of political office has not in any way shown or been associated with violence even in the most obvious provocations. He has always shown even during the electioneering that he is issue-driven as he carries on without calling anybody’s name.

“POMR is also aware that multiple attack dogs have been hired and strategically deployed to ensure that Obi does not enjoy the ear of the Nigerian populace who are keen on hearing his voice on issues.

“These spine doctors and hirelings, to justify their pay, indulge in all kinds of falsehood ostensibly to distract Obi and confuse Nigerians who already see Obi as suiting balm in the current turbulent political and economic environment.

“All the problems real and imagined created by their insensitivity and lavish lifestyle they have curiously tried to link to Obi.

“Notable challenges of the administration which are a consequence of their actions and inactions like fuel subsidy fallouts, growing poverty in the land, inflation, nepotism and unresolved historical conflicts among others they blame all on Obi.

“POMR therefore wish to urge Nigerians to ignore the Presidency’s cheap blackmail as Obi and the Obidient family all over the country and in the diaspora remain resolute in their search for a new Nigeria that is POssible and would not be cowed or be made to lose focus.”

Utomi denies any involvement

Also reacting to Onanuga’s statement on his X handle yesterday, Prof Pat Utomi said he was away in Washington DC and had no idea that such a protest was being planned until he was told about it by a senior civil servant of his acquaintance.

He also challenged the presidential spokesman to present an evidence to justify his claims.

Utomi wrote: “Esteem just collapsed before me. I used to think Bayo Onanuga was a journalist of some standing until I began to receive calls this morning about his accusing me of planning demonstrations for August.

“First, I have been resident in Washington DC and occupied by an intense Fellowship for months with additional work on a book project such that I did not even know demonstrations were being planned until I called a senior civil servant in Abuja who I sent a questionnaire on public policy reforms.

“I mentioned I would be in Ghana for events around the AU summit and he said if you will come into Nigeria be careful that demonstrations in August do not make you run into flight disruptions. That is how I heard of protests being planned.

“This morning when I heard about Onanuga’s comment, my inclination was to ignore it. But another caller suggested it could deliberate falsehood to rationalize a sinister plan.

“I would like Mr Onanuga to present any evidence to justify his comment

“Let it be clear that I have nothing against protests. It is a legitimate instrument of democracy for raising the voice of citizens.

“I have participated in many in my time from my undergraduate days at UNN to marching with concerned professionals following the June 12 elections annulment.

“Even though I did not know the organisers of the EndSARS protests, I supported it. So if I were part of whatever is being planned for August, I would wear it as a badge of honor and not wait to be called out by Bayo Onanuga.”

NOA, Nasarawa urge Nigerians to shun planned action

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) yesterday cautioned Nigerian youths against the planned protest, warning that its outcome would be unpredictable.

The NOA Director in Bauchi State, Mrs Theresa Omaga, canvassed dialogue as the path to peace and meaningful engagement of government over the youth grievances.

Omaga said: “While Nigerians have a constitutional right for peaceful protest, experience had thought that it does not always end as intended, hence the need for a rethink.

“The government is not insensitive to the plights of Nigerians and will not fail to give a listening ear to the youths if they resort to meaningful dialogue.”

The Nasarawa State Government also appealed to its citizens to shun what it termed an ill-conceived nationwide protest against the government of President Tinubu.

A statement issued by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Ibrahim Angbolo, in Lafia, the state capital yesterday noted that the Nasarawa State Government believes in democratic government, particularly one that is making efforts to provide good governance and grow the nation’s economy.

Angbolo said: “It has become imperative as a matter of concern to call on our vibrant youths to carefully assess the situation before taking the risk of joining a politically motivated protest.

“Such protest is capable of bringing back the hands of the clock and truncating the highly cherished democracy and the laudable achievements that have been recorded over the years.

”With intelligence reports suggesting that some criminal elements are planning to hijack the protest not only to disrupt government and commercial activities but break into stores and shops to loot goods.

“It becomes incumbent on us to sue for caution and decline any overtures to partake in the ill-intentioned protest.

”Equally worthy of note is the stark reality that protests in parts of the region often take on the ethno-religious dimension, leading to violence between Christians and Muslims.”

We won’t protest against Tinubu, Gospel Ministers declare

The Congress of Nigeria Gospel Ministers Incorporated has declared that they would not be part of the planned protest against President Bola Tinubu.

The declaration was made yesterday by the National President of the body, His Eminence, Most Rev Prof. Philip Akam.

He stated that his members across the 36 states in Nigeria would not be joining the planned nationwide protest against hunger and economic hardship.

Akam described members of his congress as genuine ministers of God who are peaceful and law-abiding, adding that they had no adequate reasons to participate in the organised protest against the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Akam who is also the Primate, Christ The Light Gospel Mission Incorporated made the position of the Congress known to reporters shortly after meeting with the Anambra State Chapter in Amawbia, Anambra State.

According to him, “whatever the protest, be it peaceful or non- peaceful, we are not going to be part of it.

“Members of our churches should not participate and we should go back to our various congregations and tell them that we are not part of this type of protest that is upcoming; that we have a better option, and the option is to meet with the President and have a talk with him about his leadership style, where we think he has done right and where we think he has not done right.

“Then we advise him on how best he can address the challenges, because our members are also suffering from the hunger and hardship Nigerians are currently going through.”

However, he expressed dissatisfaction over the way and manner the Nigeria government was “looking down” on some genuine church organisations like the Congress of Nigerian Gospel Ministers.

“The government is not carrying the churches along, which is why things are not going normal the way it should be, in a country like Nigeria blessed with all natural resources anybody can think of.

“A church is a divine institution charged with the mandate of ensuring the peace and spiritual well-being of the society.

“So, our meeting with the President, I strongly believe that it will curb the challenges,” the Primate said.

Let’s not give hoodlums platform to wreck us, group tells proponents of protests

Nigerians have been asked to exercise restraint in the face of prevailing hardship and trust President Bola Tinubu to ease it.

A group, Tinubu/Shetima Foundation, made the appeal during a general meeting of its members in Yola yesterday, saying it is a matter of short time for things to take shape.

The group, which has the nucleus of its membership in Adamawa State, had representatives from each of the state’s 21 local government areas at the meeting, many of who spoke.

Chairman of the group, Alhaji Hammanjulde Yahaya, urged proponents of nationwide protest to be calm, saying the chances are strong that such a protest could be hijacked by those who do not mean well for the country.

Also speaking during the meeting, Secretary of the Foundation, Comrade Julius Kadara, said patience is the word in view of certain unexpected things that could result from street protest.

Kadara said: “Those planning protest should sheathe their swords. They may have good intention but hoodlums could take it over and wreak havoc on every one of us.”

(The Nation)