Obi accuses presidency of blackmail on planned protest

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has rejected an attempt by the presidency to link him with the planned protest in the country.

He was reacting to a statement credited to the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, on the planned protests by a group of Nigerians on the current economic hardship in the country.

Onanuga had in a post on his verified X handle on Saturday, alleged that Obi’s supporters are behind the planned nationwide protests against the Federal Government.

He described the Obidients as anarchists who should be held responsible for any mayhem that may arise from the protest.

But in a statement issued by the spokesman of Peter Obi Media Reach, Yunusa Tanko, the former Anambra State governor described the allegations as wild, wicked, and baseless.

He stressed that the “unsubstantiated allegations” were orchestrated to arrest him and limit his freedom and association.

The statement read: “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.

READ ALSO: PROTEST: Presidency accuses Peter Obi supporters of plotting mayhem

“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 a suiting balm in the current turbulent political and economic environment.

“POMR, therefore, wishes 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.”

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