By Opeyemi Adelakun
Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has criticised former Anambra State governor and NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi over his call for increased Federal Government investment in sports.
Onanuga, in a post on X on Wednesday, accused Obi of making what he described as reckless claims about government investment in the sector.
“Headlines don’t lie like Peter Obi lies, recklessly,” Onanuga wrote.
He also questioned Obi’s record in sports during his tenure as Anambra governor, alleging that the state’s athletes, including sportspeople with disabilities, were treated poorly under the former governor.
“His poor sports record as governor is well documented in the archives,” he said.
Onanuga added that Obi was now speaking about the need for increased government investment in sports despite what he described as his own record in Anambra.
“Today, he talks, very glibly, of course, about the need for the FG to invest in sport, when, as governor for 8 years, he treated Anambra sportsmen and women and even, unconscionably, the physically challenged sportsmen and women shabbily,” he wrote.
The comments followed Obi’s recent call for greater investment in sports development after he watched a Nigeria Premier Football League match between Ikorodu City and Enugu Rangers at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.
Obi expressed concern over the low attendance at the match and argued that Nigeria was failing to harness its sporting talent effectively.
He said countries such as Brazil and Jamaica had demonstrated how sports could be used to engage young people, combat crime and create employment opportunities.
“Nigeria has no shortage of sporting talent. What we lack is the vision and commitment to turn that talent into opportunities for our young people,” Obi said.
He also argued that sports should be viewed beyond entertainment, saying a properly developed sector could contribute to youth development, employment and wider social transformation.
Onanuga’s response shifts the discussion from Obi’s call for increased sports investment to the former governor’s record on sports administration in Anambra.
His allegations about the treatment of athletes during Obi’s tenure have not been independently established in the material reviewed for this report.
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