Bayo Onanuga Reacts As NDC Is Accused Of Passing Off Gambian President’s Crowd As Peter Obi’s Suppor

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has criticised the alleged circulation of a video showing a crowd welcoming Gambian President Adama Barrow, which he claimed was presented as footage of supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during his visit to Jos, Plateau State.

Onanuga raised the allegation in a post shared on his official X account, describing the development as a political scandal. He suggested that the footage was deliberately used to create the impression that Obi had attracted a massive crowd during his visit to the North-Central state, despite the video allegedly originating from another country.

Reacting to the situation, the presidential aide questioned the authenticity of the footage being circulated and made a sarcastic reference to the growing use of artificial intelligence and digital technology in manipulating information on social media.

He wrote: “NDC was caught substituting President Adama Barrow’s Gambian crowd for Peter Obi’s crowd in Jos. What a scandal! In the age of AI, anything is POssible.”

Another social media user identified as Legendary Joe also joined the discussion, criticising what he described as an attempt by Obi’s supporters to misrepresent a political gathering in The Gambia as evidence of the NDC leader’s popularity in Nigeria.

In a lengthy post titled “The Facts, Without the Noise,” the user provided an alternative explanation of the video’s origin. According to the account, the footage was recorded in The Gambia and showed supporters of the National People’s Party (NPP) accompanying President Adama Barrow to the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

The post claimed that the gathering took place as Barrow submitted his nomination papers ahead of The Gambia’s presidential election scheduled for December 5, 2026. It further stated that the video was recorded on November 10, the same day Peter Obi reportedly visited Jos.

Although the social media user acknowledged that Obi was in Jos during the period, he alleged that some of the politician’s supporters circulated the Gambian footage to exaggerate the reception he received in Nigeria.

The user argued that presenting a crowd gathered for a foreign political leader as evidence of support for a Nigerian opposition politician could mislead the public about the actual level of political support enjoyed by the individual concerned.

Emphasising his position, Legendary Joe stated: “A borrowed crowd cannot confer a borrowed mandate, and a thousand retweets cannot turn a Gambian procession into a Nigerian political endorsement.”

The controversy has generated discussions about political propaganda, social media misinformation and the importance of verifying videos before sharing them as evidence of public support.

However, the available accounts do not independently establish who first circulated the footage as showing Obi’s reception in Jos or whether the NDC officially published it.