Atiku's Aide Responds to Presidency: Peter Obi's Defection Reveals Aso Rock's Panic

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Onanuga's Response
• Shaibu's Reaction
• Political Commentary
• Conclusion

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, stated on Thursday that President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman, Bayo Onanuga’s reaction to Peter Obi’s defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) reflects a state of panic in “Aso Rock.”

Onanuga asserted that Obi’s remarks during his defection indicated that he remains resentful about finishing third in the 2023 presidential election.

He further suggested that the former Labour Party presidential candidate would ultimately serve as Atiku’s running mate in the ADC.

In response, Shaibu dismissed Onanuga’s assertion that Obi would become Atiku’s running mate as mere fiction.

Posting on X, Shaibu remarked: “Dear Bayo Onanuga, as the media adviser to @officialABAT, this outburst reflects more about the panic in Aso Rock than it does about @PeterObi.

“You did not write as a media manager; you wrote as a defender under pressure. And pressure often replaces reason with ridicule and facts with insults.

“Labeling Obi as ‘wandering’ while defending an administration built on political migrations and elite alliances is hypocrisy disguised as commentary.

“Nigerian politics has never been a sanctuary. You are well aware of this. Pretending otherwise undermines your own record.

“Your effort to characterize legitimate electoral grievances as ‘bitterness’ is not analysis; it is damage control. Millions of Nigerians questioned the 2023 process. You may mock them, but you cannot erase their concerns.

“And the insults—crude, reckless, and unbecoming of someone representing the Presidency.

“When government communication devolves into name-calling, it often indicates that results are lacking and anger is rampant.

“You dismiss global ideas while defending policies that are blatantly borrowed from elsewhere. You commend ‘homegrown solutions’ while celebrating reforms that Nigerians only experience as hunger, insecurity, and dwindling livelihoods.

“Propaganda does not alter lived realities. Your belief that Obi will ‘play second fiddle’ to @atiku is pure fantasy. There is no ticket, no candidate, no enforced hierarchy. What exists is a coalition conversation—and that is what truly disturbs you.

“Let’s be frank: this outrage is not about Obi. It is about 2027.

“It is about the fear that Nigerians are organizing beyond your control.

“As Tinubu’s spokesman, you should understand this: insults do not win elections, spin does not fill stomachs, and arrogance does not intimidate hungry people.

“Nigerians will decide in 2027—not media advisers, not propaganda merchants, and certainly not intimidation masquerading as analysis.

“Nigeria is not a monarchy. Power is not inherited. And 2027 is not yours by right. Say it clearly. Or let the people say it for you.”

Eze Chidiebere Paul

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