The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has claimed that Peter Obi’s strong performance in the 2023 presidential election, where he secured over 6.1 million votes, was largely driven by religious rhetoric.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Bwala also asserted that a significant portion of Obi’s online supporters, known as “Obidients,” consist of bot accounts rather than genuine human followers.
He made the comments on Thursday while responding to questions about the presidency’s frequent reactions to the former Anambra governor.
He said, “When we keep quiet, Peter Obi and his Obidients, from morning till the next morning, are talking about Asiwaju government… When we respond to them, you say we are reacting to them.”
He continued, “Peter Obi has a followership that they call the Obidients, that are largely, they consist of people that are not human beings, we call bot account. If you are very familiar with social media and the manipulation of algorithm, you will say that.
“But the real Obidients that are human beings, when you see them on the street, they are not very many.”
On Obi’s electoral performance, Bwala stated, “At that time, he used religious rhetoric. The toxicity of what he introduced in 2023 will be a long time before it leaves us as a country.”
He argued that the religious dimension was amplified by the ruling All Progressives Congress fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket, making it “very easy to whoop up” support at the time.
Bwala added that many religious leaders who backed Obi during the election no longer support him.
“The same religious leaders that followed him at that time, right now, they don’t feel his energy anymore. Why? Because at that time, it was very easy to whoop up because on the other hand, there is a Muslim ticket,” he said.
The presidential aide further questioned Obi’s leadership and man-management skills.
He noted that several of Obi’s former close associates from his time as Anambra State governor have since parted ways with him.
“When Peter Obi governed as governor in Anambra till today, have you seen any of his former commissioners, aides, or administrative assistants that are still with him? He doesn’t have man-management skills.
“In 2019, he had Valentine Ozigbo, he has Kennedy Okonkwo, he has all other persons. The person left right now is Aisha, she will come after now.”
Bwala’s comments come on the heels of recent political realignments by the opposition.
Obi, alongside former presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Sunday dumped the African Democratic Congress for the Nigeria Democratic Congress amid internal crises and litigations in the coalition.
The move signals both leaders’ positioning for a potential presidential alliance in the 2027 general election against President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC.
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