The Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR) has accused the presidency of attempting to arrest the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
POMR, in a statement on Saturday by its spokesperson, Yunusa Tanko, said the administration of President Bola Tinubu has hired and strategically deployed multiple attack dogs against Obi.
The position of the Obi media team comes in direct reaction to an earlier allegation by the special adviser to President Tinubu on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, which accused Obi of being behind a planned protest by some Nigerians.
Naija News recalls Onanuga on Saturday in a post via his X account, had said Obi should be held responsible for the planned protest by citizens. He said Obi’s supporters decided to protest because he lost the last general election and not because of economic hardship and high inflation.
However, Tanko, in a counter statement, described the allegations against Obi as wild, wicked and baseless.
He urged the general public to ignore the attempt by the presidency to launch cheap blackmail against Obi, asserting that the planned protest is influenced by the insensitivity of the Tinubu government to the hardship in the country.
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 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.”
