Presidential media aide Bayo Onanuga has criticized supporters of Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate for the opposition Labour Party (LP), claiming they are orchestrating the nationwide anti-hunger protests set for August 1.
Onanuga, who serves as the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, asserted that Obi’s followers are behind the planned unrest in Nigeria and should be held accountable for any resulting chaos.
In a detailed post on his X handle (formerly Twitter) on Saturday morning, Onanuga alleged that the protest organizers are the same individuals who infiltrated the #EndSARS Movement in 2020, inciting mayhem across the country under the influence of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Onanuga wrote: “Don’t be deceived: the dissidents planning nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Labour Party. He should be held accountable for any crisis that arises from these actions. The protest organizers are also the same individuals who, spurred by IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, initiated the destructive ENDSARS protests in Nigeria in October 2020. ENDSARS began as a legitimate youth protest against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its brutality. However, IPOB members aiming to separate the South East region from Nigeria infiltrated and hijacked the protest for their own agenda. Lagos still bears the scars of the destructive actions by IPOB elements to this day.”