On March 25, 2025, a statement from Nigeria’s presidency, delivered through President Bola Tinubu’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga, stirred significant online debate after Tinubu warned Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, to “watch his mouth” and refrain from “running his government down.” The warning came in response to Obi’s remarks at a colloquium celebrating Emeka Ihedioha’s 60th birthday, where he claimed that Nigeria’s democracy had “collapsed” under Tinubu’s leadership. The presidency condemned Obi’s statement as “hyperbolic” and lacking “logical foundation,” arguing that Nigeria’s democracy, strengthened over 26 years, could not be deemed collapsed when Obi himself benefits from its free speech provisions. This political clash, reported by Peoples Gazette, quickly became a trending topic on X, with Nigerians expressing a wide range of reactions to the presidency’s stance.
The original post by Peoples Gazette (@GazetteNGR) on X, shared at 08:23 UTC on March 25, 2025, garnered immediate attention, racking up replies that reflected the polarized sentiments of Nigerians. Some users mocked the presidency’s response, while others questioned the framing of the story, and a few saw the warning as a sign of political weakness.