Peter Obi Media Office has challenged the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Dele Alake, to explain what the Tinubu administration has achieved with what it described as the President’s appropriated victory in the 2023 presidential election.
The media office, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Idris Zekeri Jnr, on Friday, said Alake and the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council should move beyond disputing Peter Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election and instead account for the performance of the administration.
According to the statement, while Alake focuses on challenging Obi’s assertion, Nigerians are more concerned about the impact of the government’s policies on their daily lives.
It questioned what the electoral victory had delivered to ordinary Nigerians, alleging that the country had instead witnessed increased economic hardship, rising living costs, worsening poverty and insecurity.
“What significance does an electoral victory have if it fails to bring meaningful improvements to the lives of the people?” the statement asked.
The Obi Media Office maintained that winning an election should not be regarded as an end in itself, but as a mandate to govern effectively and improve the welfare of citizens.
It argued that leadership should be assessed based on the ability of an administration to translate political authority into tangible improvements in the lives of the people, rather than merely defending an electoral outcome.
The statement acknowledged that the courts affirmed the official result of the 2023 presidential election but stressed that a legal victory was different from successful governance.
“We recognise that the courts affirmed the official result of the 2023 presidential election.
Nevertheless, a legal victory does not amount to successful governance, nor does it place an administration beyond public examination and accountability,” it said.
The media office therefore urged Alake to focus on explaining the record of the administration rather than what it described as attacks on Obi.
It asked the presidential spokesman to account for the economic relief, prosperity, security and affordability that Nigerians were promised.
“Where is the relief Nigerians were promised? Where is the economic prosperity? Where are the security, affordability, and renewed hope that responsible leadership should provide?” it queried.
The statement said Nigerians were becoming less interested in prolonged political disagreements as their purchasing power declined and the cost of survival increased.
It urged Alake to respond to what it described as the fundamental question Nigerians were asking about the performance of the Tinubu administration.
“Victory should be measured not by what politicians celebrate at the polls but by what people can celebrate in their homes, workplaces, farms, and communities,” the statement added.
The Obi Media Office said Nigeria deserved a government focused on delivering results rather than one whose defenders, according to it, were more concerned with discrediting opposition figures than accounting for the condition of the country.
