‘The scales have fallen off your eyes’, Presidency chides Babachir over Obi’s defection

The Presidency has hit back at Peter Obi after Babachir Lawal accused him of selfish political practices.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, backed Lawal’s criticism, accusing Obi of trying to benefit from others’ efforts without building his own political base.

Lawal, who had been a strong supporter of Obi during the 2023 elections, accused the former Anambra governor of abandoning the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for personal gain. He claimed that Obi, who fears the rigours of primaries, prefers a consensus that benefits him alone, making him a “selfish politician” who cannot build a party.

In a sharp tweet addressing Lawal’s statements, Onanuga said: “The scales have now fallen from Babachir Lawal’s eyes. Obi cannot build a party, he takes advantage of what others have created and only seeks to benefit himself.” He went on to describe Obi as a “Gbajue politician of this era,” drawing on street slang to highlight Obi’s self-serving approach.

Lawal’s criticism of Obi also touched on the latter’s habit of “going to where others have toiled to cook the soup and taking the biggest meat in the pot,” implying that Obi lacks the ability to create and build political structures that benefit the people at large.

In response to these accusations, Onanuga reiterated that Obi’s political philosophy revolves around putting himself first. He argued that Obi’s reluctance to embrace primaries and his preference for a consensus that favors him demonstrate a deeply ingrained selfishness in his political approach