Media personality and Arise TV anchor, Rufai Oseni, has criticised the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, for describing Peter Obi’s call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resignation as “childish.”
Oseni made the remarks while reacting to the Presidency’s response to Obi’s demand that Tinubu step down over what the former Labour Party presidential candidate described as worsening economic hardship, insecurity and governance failures.
The controversy began after Obi urged the President to resign, arguing that the administration had failed to deliver on key promises made to Nigerians. He also drew parallels with calls made by opposition figures against former President Goodluck Jonathan before the 2015 general election.
Responding on behalf of the Presidency, Onanuga dismissed Obi’s position as “childish” and “hollow,” insisting that the former Anambra governor had wrongly compared Nigeria’s presidential system with the United Kingdom’s parliamentary model.
However, Oseni questioned the basis for the Presidency’s criticism, asking whether members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should also be regarded as “childish” for demanding Jonathan’s resignation while they were in opposition.
According to him, opposition politicians, including Tinubu and other APC leaders, strongly criticised Jonathan’s administration over insecurity and economic challenges and made similar calls for accountability at the time.
Oseni argued that political actors should be judged by the same standards regardless of whether they are in government or opposition, maintaining that democratic discourse allows citizens and opposition figures to question elected leaders and demand accountability.
His comments have added a fresh dimension to the debate sparked by Obi’s resignation call, with supporters and critics of the administration continuing to clash over the state of governance and economic conditions in the country.
