Bwala dismisses Obi’s ADC prospects ahead of Nigeria’s next general elections

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has declared that former Anambra State governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will neither emerge as the presidential nor vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Bwala made the assertion during an interview on The Clarity Zone Podcast, where he questioned Obi’s political relevance and leadership capacity, claiming that the former governor lacks the competence to serve even as director-general of any coalition political movement.

According to the presidential aide, Obi has lost control of the political structure he built during and after the 2023 general election, including his influence within the National Assembly. He argued that lawmakers and political actors once associated with Obi have since drifted away.

“After the election, he lost everybody he was leading. He had members in the House of Representatives. How many are there in the National Assembly?” Bwala asked. “The only governor he had—where is that governor now? Is the governor with him or with us? In fact, I have not seen anyone who identifies with him at the moment.”

READ ALSO: 2027: Aisha Yesufu warns against Peter Obi playing second fiddle at ADC

Bwala further alleged that Obi’s political interventions across the country have yielded no tangible results, claiming that candidates Obi publicly supported in various elections failed to win at the polls.

He also criticised Obi’s supporters on social media, describing them as an “army of Trojans” who, according to him, regularly attack perceived opponents and accuse others of inconsistency and party defection.

“They go about calling people two-faced and accusing them of changing parties,” Bwala said. “But when you point out that their master and hero has been changing parties like a Premier League player changes clubs every season, they don’t like it.”

The presidential aide accused Obi of hypocrisy on the issue of party loyalty, recounting his movement across several political platforms over the years. He noted that Obi began his political career in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), moved to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), returned to the PDP and later defected to the Labour Party.

READ ALSO: 2027: Aisha Yesufu warns against Peter Obi playing second fiddle at ADC

“Right now, when people talk about being between the devil and the deep blue sea, he is between ADC and Labour,” Bwala said. “He will not be the presidential candidate, and he will not be the vice-presidential candidate. Peter Obi is going to run on a platform other than Labour and other than ADC.”

Bwala also predicted that Obi would not secure even a quarter of the votes he garnered in the 2023 presidential election in any future contest. In the last general election, Obi, who flew the Labour Party flag, polled 6,101,533 votes, finishing third behind candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to Bwala, Obi’s rise in national politics was driven by a temporary political moment rather than sustained grassroots strength. He further described Obi as “an actor” in Nigeria’s political space, arguing that his appeal was built on what he termed “make-believe” rather than enduring political reality.