Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, has criticised Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, saying he is not a genuine ‘labour’ leader.
Speaking on The Clarity Zone Podcast on Wednesday, Bwala argued that Obi’s reputation as a philanthropist was exaggerated.
“Peter Obi is a billionaire, multi-billionaire. There is no record that Peter has floated a foundation, or a school, anything that has to do with public interest and funded so they can meet the needs of the masses. Not a single one,” he said.
Bwala also dismissed reports that Obi had made huge donations.
“He has never given beyond N50m, and even that one, I can tell you the circumstances behind it. He never gave N100m to anybody,” he claimed.
He further mocked the boreholes reportedly donated by Obi in the North after the elections, describing them as “caveman days borehole — where somebody will climb and be bouncing like this before water will come out.”
Beyond philanthropy, Bwala questioned Obi’s alignment with the Labour Party, saying he had no history of standing with workers.
“Peter Obi is a capitalist by nature. He believes in free market economy. He’s a businessman. There is nothing resembling socialism around Peter Obi. But Peter Obi ran on the platform of Labour Party that is principally a socialist party. Tell me whether you have ever seen Peter Obi in any workers’ strike, protest or student unionism. Even during EndSARS, was he there?”
He compared Obi’s 2023 campaign to Donald Trump’s populist strategy, saying Obi only took advantage of youth anger. “In the last election, Obi just saw that the youth were not happy and he rode on that anger. They even said, ‘we no dey give shishi,’ because once you ride on their anger, they sponsor themselves to fight your cause,” Bwala added.
He also accused Obi of using churches during the campaign and abandoning them afterwards.
“He went to all the churches, met all the Pentecostal bishops. He was everywhere — Holy Ghost night, Holy Ghost morning, prophetic prayers. But after the election, I didn’t see him again. Like my church, we had Shiloh. I told one of my pastors that Peter Obi no dey go Shiloh again,” he said.
Obi joined the Labour Party in 2022 after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party and ran a campaign that gained huge support from youths and church groups under the “Obidient” movement. The Labour Party presents itself as a pro-worker, social democratic platform.
