Obi Replies Tinubu: You Should’ve Warned Your Supporters Not To Attack Me If You Wanted Issue-Based Campaign

Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, has responded to the call for an issue-based campaign by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart.

Tinubu’s campaign organization had on Wednesday asked Obi to caution his supporters against spreading lies and denigrating its candidates.

Bayo Onanuga, the director of media and communications of the campaign, urged Obi and other presidential aspirants to desist from mudslinging and focus their campaigns on issues of good governance.

Onanuga, without providing evidence, accused Obi’s supporters of faking a letter attributed to Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, allegedly asking Tinubu to support Obi’s presidential bid and take care of his health.

“We have come to a point where it becomes imperative to tell Obi to show leadership. He should disavow his supporters who are employing fake news and disinformation as deliberate tools to deceive and poison the minds of unsuspecting Nigerians,” he had said.

But re-joining, Obi’s media adviser, Valentine Obienyem, said the Labour Party presidential candidate had always been an advocate for campaigns that are centered on important issues rather than name calling or trivial issues.

Obienyem, however, tackled the Tinubu campaign organisation over its attempt to attribute the fake Nana Akufo-Addo letter to Obi’s supporters,

According to him, it was wicked of the Tinubu campaign organization to link Obi’s supporters or group to the letter without providing evidence.

He also noted that if Tinubu was interested in issues-based campaigns as canvassed by his team, his supporters would not have taken to newspapers to publish opinion articles aimed at tarnishing Obi’s image.

Apparently referring to an opinion article titled ‘Obi-tuary’, where the writer, Sam Omatseye, who is an associate of Tinubu deeply criticized Obi, Obienyem said such articles with “offensive titles” do not suggest that the APC presidential candidate has an interest in campaigning on issues.

Obienyem also described Omatseye’s attempt to link Obi’s campaign to IPOB as the height of mischief.

“We know that things are not well in Nigeria. We know of the agitations in different parts of the country, our principal has always said what he would do with such organizations to stop their agitation and bring them back to Nigeria as one happy family. Rather than others say what they will do, they are here creating more problems by trying vainly and wickedly to link their fellow contestants to some of those organizations,” he added.