The presidency has questioned the leadership capacity of former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accusing him of failing to manage the internal crises within the Labour Party (LP).
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, stated this during an interview on African Independent Television (AIT) on Monday.
Dare criticised Peter Obi’s role in the Labour Party, arguing that he neither founded nor effectively controlled the party.
Tinubu’s aide further accused Peter Obi of lacking commitment to party-building, stressing that the former Governor of Anambra State tends to jump from one party to another and cannot fix problems.
He said, “Look at the history of the Labour Party. Did Obi form the Labour Party? Was he even in control of the Labour Party?
“When the crisis of Labour started almost two and a half years back, we witnessed it. Did Obi even play a central role?
“We saw it play out in the open, and rather than fix his party, he jumped ship and moved to another party. Is that the person you want to entrust the fate of 230 million people to? You cannot fix your party.”
Dare also dismissed allegations linking the presidency to the crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), insisting that the party was hijacked.
The presidential aide emphasised that ongoing legal processes should be allowed to take their course, urging parties involved to refrain from public outcry and agitation.
He maintained that court rulings would ultimately determine the outcome of the dispute.
He said, “ADC was hijacked. The original owners of ADC are back to say, ‘we want our party back,’ and again, in what way is the president responsible for the crisis in the ADC?
“You have judicial cases ongoing, you go back to the court, we run a democracy. The president said we will respect the judiciary.
“Why is it that rather than wait, you’ve gone to court willingly why don’t you wait for those declarations and judgments to come? Why hire a lobbyist? Why get on the streets making noise? Why get on social media and just keep raining down abuses?
“You wait because ultimately, after all the noise is made, the judgment and declarations of the court will decide the way forward.”