Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has come under criticism from the presidency following his comments during a recent interview where he appeared to support some of President Bola Tinubu’s major economic decisions.
Obi spoke on Arise Television on Monday, where he said that there was nothing wrong with Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy. He also did not object to the unification of the foreign exchange system.
However, he noted that the implementation was poor and lacked proper planning. According to him, Tinubu should have made preparations to cushion the effect of these decisions on Nigerians before going ahead with them.
Responding to the interview, the president’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, reacted strongly to Obi’s remarks. He posted on X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that Obi’s statements showed that he agrees with Tinubu’s economic direction, even if he now tries to distance himself from the administration’s methods.
Bwala wrote, “Is anybody watching @PeterObi on Arise TV? He agreed with our policy of removal of subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange; he claimed he would have done it better than us in an ‘organised manner.’”
He also noted that when Obi was asked to explain what he meant by “organised manner,” his response was vague and unclear. Bwala accused Obi and others in the opposition of having no real solutions or alternative plans, saying they are only focused on gaining political power.
“Anybody with rational mind knows these guys are just looking to grab power; but they don’t have any alternative agenda,” Bwala added.
He went further to criticize Obi’s understanding of economic issues, saying, “He seem to have very shallow knowledge of economics and governance.”
The aide also pointed out that the interview was conducted by someone believed to be sympathetic to Obi’s political base, which he claimed made the discussion softer than usual.
