Ex-Special Adviser to Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential election, Katchy Ononuju, has accused certain political players of misleading his principal into joining the newly formed opposition coalition. The coalition recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its platform.
In an interview on Wednesday, Ononuju claimed that Obi was misled into believing he would be the coalition’s presidential candidate.
According to him, the real plan was to use Obi’s popularity to gain attention and then quietly support former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential race.
He said Obi was initially promised that there would be discussions about the conditions for his candidacy after the coalition’s official launch.
However, Obi was allegedly kept in the dark about internal moves that favored another direction.
Ononuju stated,
“The coalition was just a trick. They tricked Peter Obi, saying don’t worry, go and register, go, let us inaugurate. We will zone to the South and after the inauguration declaration, we will now start negotiating on the terms of you being the presidential candidate. I told him that these people are tricking; they are not proper.”
Ononuju further reminded people of his background with the Obidient Movement.
“By the way, I served as Peter Obi’s Special Adviser on Public Affairs during the last election. I and Doyin Okupe founded the youth movement from the PDP. We decided that we would not allow the party to run away from inclusion which is driven by zoning. After several pleadings, we convinced Peter Obi to head what we were doing. That is why it became the Obidient Movement.”
He said he couldn’t stand by and watch something he helped build be weakened by untrustworthy political deals.
“I would not allow what I founded to be reduced to nothing and that is why I told Peter Obi that I and my people would not support him if he ever submitted to anything that we do not believe will allow our aspirations to be given expression.”
Ononuju criticized the role of vice presidents in Nigeria, arguing that it doesn’t give much power.
“You know that when you are Vice President you are nothing. Look at Shettima; remember the days of Goodluck; look at Osinbajo. It does not work that way.”
He emphasized the importance of zoning between the North and South in Nigerian politics.
“Our problem is very simple. We worked in the PDP and we know that the pendulum between the North and South in terms of zoning means even if you get to the North in a Volkswagen Beetle, you have gotten to the North. The next thing is that the pendulum must return to the South. If it returns to the South in a Mercedes, it does not matter.”
He concluded with a firm statement on political fairness:
“What I mean is that no matter the party you use in getting a Northerner into power, when it comes the other way, it has to be a Southerner. We said if the North has done eight years, it has to be the turn of the South