Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Engagement, Frederick Nwabufo, on Monday criticised the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, describing his recent television interview as further evidence of what he called the opposition leader’s lack of policy depth and understanding of governance.
Reacting in a post on his verified X handle, @FredrickNwabufo, to Obi’s appearance on Channels Television on Sunday night, Nwabufo said the interview showed the NDC candidate had failed to articulate any concrete alternative policy direction.
“Peter Obi’s interview shows him again to be vacant of deep thought, understanding of governance, and taken up by syrupy rhetoric. He still has no plan, no alternative, and no policy plank, beyond a mouthful of sentimental nothings”, he said. 
The presidential aide also faulted Obi’s claim that he would unite Nigeria, arguing that the opposition candidate failed to explain how he intended to achieve that objective.
“Obi claimed he would unite Nigeria, but failed to explain how beyond the tired refrain of his cooks and ADC being northerners”, Nwabufo said, adding that “his utterances, actions, and those of his followers have but deepened the chasm”.
According to him, national cohesion is built on “inclusive governance, economic integration, and equitable citizenship”, stressing that “the balancing forces of national cohesion are governance and the economy”.
He argued that strengthening national unity requires governments to ensure that “public resources are delivered to all citizens regardless of faith, ethnicity, or social standing and that the government is fair and just to all”.
Nwabufo said President Bola Tinubu had demonstrated those principles by ensuring that “the six geopolitical zones are equal beneficiaries of its programmes, initiatives, and projects, and indeed, all the accruals of governance”.
He further cited the administration’s appointments into public offices, saying, “He appointed young professionals from diverse backgrounds at an unprecedented scale. For the first time in the evolution of Nigeria, young people are superintending strategic sectors of government”.
The presidential spokesman also defended the President’s approach to national leadership, saying Tinubu had addressed concerns over the composition of the nation’s service chiefs while maintaining a unifying posture.
“There was a time, not so long ago, when the ethnic composition of the service chiefs was often a sore point for controversy, but in his true form as an architect of unity, balancing competence and patriotism, the President put an end to the concerns with wisdom”, he said.
He added that “President Tinubu, by his body language and extempore utterances, has maintained a nationalist and unifying position, bringing all together, and not given to divisive rhetoric. He has continued on the unifier’s path, stitching the national fabric, building a more cohesive nation and forging a shared future for us all”.
Responding to Obi’s criticism of the Renewed Hope Agenda, Nwabufo said the opposition candidate had failed to acknowledge what he described as visible gains from the administration’s reforms.
“Obi needs to get off the high of his rabid movement. The unmistakable trail of Renewed Hope shimmers across all villages, towns, cities, and local government areas in all six geopolitical zones”, he said.
He disclosed that members of the Presidential Communications Team had toured the country’s six geopolitical zones “to see things for themselves, feel the pulse of Nigerians, and conduit feedback to the government”.
Nwabufo added that the administration had documented evidence of economic improvements and transformative programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and interventions by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
“If Obi cares, there’s a digital binder full of reports of Nigeria’s economic turnaround under the current administration, inclusive of many transformative projects, policies, and programmes, such as NELFUND, that are impacting Nigerians at the critical cellular level”, he said.
He concluded that “under Renewed Hope, that hardworking young trader in Amatutu village in Agulu, Anambra can now get support for his small business through SMEDAN, and that brilliant child in Mopa Muro can go to university through NELFUND without the constraints of finance. This is simply Renewed Hope manifest”.
