The Presidency has launched a fresh attack on former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, accusing him of political inconsistency and pursuing personal ambition rather than building political institutions.

The criticism followed Obi’s appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he compared his movement across political parties to President Bola Tinubu’s political trajectory.

In a statement issued on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed Obi’s comparison as misleading, insisting that Tinubu had remained committed to the progressive political movement throughout his career.

According to Onanuga, Tinubu’s political journey began with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), from where he was elected senator before the June 12, 1993 presidential election crisis. He said Tinubu remained active in the pro-democracy struggle against military rule, endured detention, went into exile, and later returned to join the Alliance for Democracy (AD), under which he was elected governor of Lagos State in 1999.

He added that Tinubu subsequently played leading roles in the formation of the Action Congress (AC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC), maintaining what he described as a consistent ideological path.

“Tinubu remained true to his ideological persuasion: he stayed in the same lane. He didn’t jump to the PDP in 2003 after he remained the last man standing. Instead, he built a new party from the bottom up, which has grown like an oak tree from an acorn,’’ Onanuga said.

Contrasting Tinubu’s political history with Obi’s, the presidential aide alleged that the former Anambra governor had repeatedly abandoned political parties after benefiting from them.

“Tinubu is unlike you, Peter Obi. You were elected Governor under the platform of APGA. You abandoned APGA after your second term and joined the PDP,” he stated.

He further noted that Obi later contested the 2019 presidential election as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform before defecting to the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 election.

Onanuga also criticised Obi’s reported move to the NDC after the Labour Party’s leadership crisis, claiming it reflected a pattern of political opportunism.

“You do not build; you always want to reap where you did not sow,” he said.

The presidential spokesman also faulted Obi’s continued insistence that he was denied victory in the 2023 presidential election despite the Supreme Court’s judgment affirming Tinubu’s election.

According to Onanuga, Obi had an opportunity during the television interview to acknowledge the outcome of the election but instead maintained that he was rigged out.

“You lost, Peter. You didn’t win that election. You came third,” Onanuga said, urging the opposition figure to accept the verdict of the courts and move on.

The latest exchange adds to the growing war of words between the Presidency and Obi ahead of the 2027 general elections.