Olusegun Obasanjo’s Obi endorsement worthless – Bola Tinubu Reacts

The Director, Media and Publicity, All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, has said presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu won’t lose sleep over the endorsement of his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, by former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obasanjo had, in his New Year message to Nigerians, described Obi as having an edge in terms of character, antecedent, understanding, knowledge, discipline, and vitality over other candidates in the 2023 presidential election.

Reacting, Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday, described the endorsement as worthless, adding that Obasanjo was a paperweight with no political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a councillorship election let alone win a presidential election.

The statement read, “We read with amusement the endorsement of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his New Year message on Sunday.

“Following calls by journalists from various media houses who asked for our reaction, we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didn’t consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.

“We respect the democratic right of former President Obasanjo to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election.

“Except that he made it known formally in his new year message, any discerning political watcher in Nigeria knows that Chief Obasanjo’s preference for Obi is expected.

“He had earlier stated his position at various public events, the last being at the 70th birthday anniversary of Chief John Nwodo, former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Enugu.

“We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Tinubu, will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.

“The endorsement is actually worthless because the former president does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a councillorship election let alone win a presidential election. He is a political paperweight.