Daniel Bwala, former spokesperson of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, has defended his criticisms of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election.
In recent weeks, Bwala has become increasingly critical of Obi, saying the LP standard bearer “wants to govern Nigeria using catchphrases and buzzwords”.
The lawyer also berated the former Anambra governor in the wake of his attendance at a Super Eagles match at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Bwala, who has met President Bola Tinubu twice in the space of a month, said discussions about Obi and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar never came up during their meetings.
Speaking with TheCable on Tuesday, Bwala said his comments about Obi were influenced by the “insults and cyberbullying” from Obi’s supporters, who are called ‘Obidients’.
“That is incorrect to say President Tinubu hired me to attack Peter Obi. As a matter of fact, why you must celebrate President Tinubu is that on the two times I had meetings with him, throughout our conversations, we never for once mentioned Atiku or Peter Obi. God is my witness,” Bwala said.
“In fact, President Tinubu did not ask me to leave PDP and return to APC. The only thing he was talking about is Nigeria and good governance.
“If you can recall, in his New Year message, he called on the opposition to join hands with him to save Nigeria. So, during my engagements with him, we never discussed anything about political parties at all.”
FACEOFF WITH ‘OBIDIENTS’
Bwala also lamented the “name callings” from Obi’s supporters following his meetings with the president.
The lawyer alleged that ‘Obidients’ are miffed by his decision not to join a proposed merger by opposition parties to wrest power from Tinubu in the next election.
“When I was opposing President Bola Tinubu, they were happy because they believe that my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Now, having said that I am supporting President Tinubu, two things are agitating them,” Bwala alleged.
“They are mooting the idea of a merger. At the beginning, they were hopeful that when the merger happens, Bwala might be a strong force for them against APC and President Tinubu. Now that I am giving my support to the president, they believe they are losing a major voice. They also believe that if I add my voice in support of President Tinubu, it will become difficult for them to counter.
“Now, they feel the best thing for them to do is to join forces with other PDP members that are aggrieved with my decision to support Tinubu and be insulting me. They came to my X page and the cyberbullying became too much. So, I have two options. The first is for me to be cowed and the second option for me is to attack them where it hurts them most.
“Peter Obi is more than a religion to Obidients. Even when some religious, political or traditional leaders observe anything about Peter Obi and they say it, these Obidients will rise against them and attack them. So, Obi has now become like a god to them.”
Bwala added that as long as Obidients continue to “look for my trouble”, his criticisms of their principal will persist.
