Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has said that Peter Obi’s remarkable success in the 2023 presidential election, in which he received over 6.1 million votes, was largely due to religious discourse.
In an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today, Bwala also claimed that a large proportion of Obi’s online supporters, known as “Obidients,” are bot accounts rather than genuine human followers.
He made the remarks on Thursday while answering questions regarding the presidency’s regular reaction 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 the 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 people that are not human beings; we call them bot accounts. If you are very familiar with social media and the manipulation of algorithms, you will say that.
“But the real Obidients that are human beings, when you see them on the street, there are not very many.”
Speaking 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 contended that the ruling All Progressives Congress’s fielding of a Muslim-Muslim ticket exacerbated the religious dimension, making it “very easy to whoop up” support.
Bwala said that many religious leaders who supported Obi during the election no longer do so.
“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 it up because, on the other hand, there was a Muslim ticket,” he said.
The presidential assistant also questioned Obi’s leadership and man-management abilities.
He stated that several of Obi’s previous close colleagues from his stint as Anambra State governor have subsequently left 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 who left right now is Aisha; she will come after now.”
Bwala’s statements follow recent political realignments by the opposition.
Obi, along with former presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso, abandoned the African Democratic Congress in favor of the Nigerian Democratic Congress on Sunday, citing internal coalition conflicts and litigation.
The move indicates that both politicians are preparing for a possible presidential partnership in the 2027 general election against President Bola Tinubu and the current APC.
