PDP chieftain says Peter Obi "lazy" in structural political thinking

Segun Showunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has criticized former presidential candidate Peter Obi, describing him as “lazy” when it comes to strategic political planning.

Speaking on Saturday during an interview on Channels Television’s Hard Copy, Showunmi asserted that Obi is not serious and fails to understand his own path to victory.

He stated, “Peter Obi is not serious. He doesn’t know where his victory card is. He could have stayed in the Labour Party, and there could have been a clear path to victory for him.”

Showunmi expressed frustration with Obi’s political movements, saying, “Every time he’s moving around. I don’t deal with that kind of laziness. When it comes to structural thinking, Peter Obi is very lazy.”

He argued that had Obi remained in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), he would not have built his current support base.

The PDP leader also commented on Obi’s recent political alignment, suggesting it is a misstep. “Now he has aligned himself with people among whom I know he can’t even win a primary,”

Showunmi said. He highlighted Atiku Abubakar’s experience, noting, “I know Atiku very well, and nobody takes him for granted when it comes to primaries because he has institutional experience of how these things work out since 1992.”

He concluded by dismissing the leverage of Obi’s supporters, remarking, “You don’t come to a political party with that kind of man and start screaming that if it’s not Peter Obi, you won’t agree. Who will listen to that?”

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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