Media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has challenged the widely held perception of the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, as a politician who does not spend money to pursue elective office.
Olayinka alleged that the former governor of Anambra State gave money to delegates while seeking the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 election.
He made the claim during an appearance on AIT’s Democracy Today programme on Friday, September 4, while responding to a question on whether politics was a business for Wike.
According to Olayinka, politicians should stop pretending that money does not play a role in Nigerian politics, arguing that candidates routinely spend money during consultations, party primaries, and election campaigns.
“One of the issues with most of us Nigerians, we like to pretend, politics is business. Don’t let us pretend. It’s a service but you can only serve when you get to power,” he said.
Olayinka said he contested a House of Representatives seat in 2023, adding that spending money was also part of the process at the primary election stage.
“Why do politicians spend money? Will anybody tell me why politicians in this country, even outside Nigeria, in US, everywhere; don’t they spend money to campaign? They spend money to seek election,” he said.
Speaking about Obi, he disputed the narrative that the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate does not give money during political engagements.
“For instance, we have read that the candidate of NDC, Peter Obi, does not spend shishi. It’s a lie,” Olayinka said.
He claimed to have personally witnessed Obi distributing money to delegates during his time as a presidential aspirant under the PDP.
“I was a delegate in Ekiti when he was in PDP before going to Labour Party. He came to Ekiti. He dropped money for delegates. From the money he dropped, they gave me my own in 2022,” he said.
Olayinka, however, acknowledged that Obi’s spending may have been lower than that of some of his fellow presidential aspirants.
“The money might be smaller than what other people gave, but he gave money,” he said.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party after leaving the PDP, where he had initially sought the party’s presidential ticket.
Ahead of the 2027 election, he has moved to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).