The Presidency, through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has openly challenged Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, regarding his claims that political opponents misrepresented his recent remarks on diaspora remittances.
The dispute erupted following comments made by Peter Obi during a town hall meeting in Manchester, United Kingdom, where he addressed members of the Nigerian diaspora community. The former Governor of Anambra State raised concerns over the heavy reliance of millions of Nigerians at home on financial support from relatives abroad to cover everyday costs like medical bills, rent, feeding, and school fees.
On Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Obi took to his verified official page on X (formerly Twitter) to address critics, accusing political opponents and commentators of distorting his stance.
”Political opponents may twist my message, but the truth remains clear: I am not asking Nigerians abroad to abandon their families. I am advocating for a Nigeria that will no longer abandon its own people,” Obi stated on Tuesday. He added that his intent was to highlight structural economic failures in Nigeria that force citizens to rely continuously on overseas relief.
Responding directly to Obi’s clarification, Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga issued a statement via his official X handle on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, pushing back against claims that the opposition had fabricated or twisted the narrative.
”Mr. Peter Obi, you failed to clarify your Manchester callous statement. Nobody twisted your statement. Thank you for affirming it again,” Onanuga wrote on Wednesday.
According to Onanuga, Obi’s attempts to frame the issue as propaganda failed to address the core callousness of his original remarks made in Manchester. The Presidential Spokesman maintained that the former governor’s explanatory statement merely reaffirmed his underlying sentiment rather than exonerating him.
