Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, has taken aim at the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, stating that Obi frequently attended churches and their programs but stopped after losing the 2023 election.
Bwala made the remark while speaking on The Clarity Zone Podcast on Wednesday.
Bwala accused the former governor of Anambra state of using church platforms during the campaign but abandoning them after the elections.
“He went to all the churches and 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.
Bwala also said that Obi’s humanitarian persona was exaggerated and out of proportion to his financial situation.
“Peter Obi is a billionaire, a multi-billionaire. There is no record that Peter has floated a foundation. Or a school. Anything that has to do with public interest and is funded so they can meet the needs of the masses. Not a single one,” he said.
He also denied claims of significant donations attributed to Obi, stating, “He has never given beyond N50m, and even that one, I can tell you the circumstances behind it. He never gave N100m to anybody.”
Bwala also criticized the boreholes Obi reportedly supported in parts of the North after the elections, describing them as primitive.
“Do you know the type of borehole people gave them money to produce? Caveman days borehole—where somebody will climb and be bouncing like this before water will come out. This is the type of development in his mind. But Nigerians don’t know,” he alleged.
Beyond generosity, Bwala questioned Obi’s political affiliation with the Labour Party, alleging that the former Anambra governor had no history of backing workers’ struggles or grassroots activity.
“Peter Obi is a capitalist by nature. He believes in a free market economy. He’s a businessman. There is nothing resembling socialism around Peter Obi. But Peter Obi ran on the platform of the Labour Party, which 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? Yet, it is the same demographic he uses in campaigning,” Bwala said.
He described Obi’s 2023 campaign as populist, likening it to the strategy of former US President Donald Trump. According to him, Obi simply exploited youth rage to rally support.
“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.
Obi, who joined the Labour Party in 2022 after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, ran an “Obidient” campaign that gained enormous youth and church support.
During the polls, the party, which is technically a social democratic platform, presented itself as a pro-worker alternative.
Despite Bwala’s claims that Obi has not sponsored public projects, documents show that the former governor has made recent donations to health and education organizations.
Chronicle NG reported that Obi made several philanthropic commitments. He donated ₦70m to health and educational institutions in Anambra State and also gave ₦20m to Faith Foundation Mission Hospital, Nsukka, Enugu State, to support its College of Nursing Sciences, amongst others.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
