Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised the Nigerian Presidency for attempting to tarnish his image by drawing an unfavourable comparison with Donald Trump.

Obi, through his Media Office and spokesman Ibrahim Umar, denounced what he called a misguided effort to link him with the American Republican candidate, arguing that it is a flawed attempt to undermine him.

Umar’s statement, issued in Abuja on Sunday, labelled the comparisons as a desperate attempt by the Presidency to create negative narratives about Obi.

He noted that the comparisons to Trump are part of a broader campaign of misinformation aimed at disparaging Obi.

“These traducers are so intent on maligning Obi that they seem to invent new falsehoods daily,” Umar said.

He criticised the administration for failing to address its own shortcomings and resorting to petty comparisons to distract from its failures.

Umar questioned the rationale behind equating Obi with Trump, asking rhetorically whether this implies that President Tinubu should be compared to Kamala Harris.

He highlighted the contrast between the two political figures, emphasising that Obi’s track record of morality, transparency, and people-focused policies stands in stark contrast to the current administration’s perceived failings.

The statement also touched on the irony of the situation, pointing out that while Tinubu’s administration has been dodging media scrutiny and public accountability, attempts to disparage Obi reflect poorly on those making the comparisons.

The statement encouraged Obi’s supporters to remain focused on their goal of a better Nigeria, despite the ongoing campaign of misinformation. He concluded by affirming Obi’s commitment to genuine progress and democratic integrity.

The LP’s response underscores their belief that the Presidency’s strategy is a futile attempt to devalue Obi’s rising profile and distract from the administration’s own policy failures.

The statement said, “We are very much aware of the motive behind these ridiculous comparisons, which is their uncanny way of currying favour so undeserved from the Democrats.

“Nigerians who mused about the derisory and facetious comparison have tried to ask: ‘Will your calling Peter Obi ‘a Trump’, translate to or mean that Tinubu is Harris’?

“Every discerning mind who wants to compare Obi and Tinubu and attempts to equate them with the two American Presidential candidates, Trump and Harris, knows too well the similarities and parallels in terms of morality, transparency, good-standing antecedents and people-focused policies.

“The Presidency by indulging in such clever-by-half comparisons, which are intended to discredit Obi, merely brings to the fore the glaring weaknesses of the incumbent administration and their crassness and inability to discern the realities and especially the pains and pangs their actions and policies foisted on the nation in the past year.

“Nigerians are not so gullible to be fooled by such empty propaganda.

“It’s even ironic that the spin doctors of a leader who since the early campaign days into over a year as President has remained disturbingly aloof and seemingly incapable of presenting himself and his policies to Nigerians through the media, and who has continued to evade public accountability, are trying to malign Obi who has easily emerged in all ramifications as the most visible, focused and articulate political personality in this dispensation.

“Obi remains a man who has not only become the conscience of the people but also their hope for a new and egalitarian Democracy.

“Rather than strive to market and justify their rusty and anti-people deleterious policies that have put Nigeria and Nigerians in the most horrendous, conditions, they have resolved to convey misleading accounts of our Principal’s activities just to distract the credulous public.

“While we understand the frustration of selling a bad product in a competitive market, the fair play rule demands that you don’t de-market the good product by forcefully associating it with the ugly product.

“We know the intention of these trolls and spin doctors, who have also gone ahead to provoke our Principal’s massive supporters across the country and diaspora by twisting his recent media interview to insinuate that he is ready to be Vice President to anyone.”