Summary: Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, has thrown a spanner in the works of Peter Obi’s ‘frugal messiah’ image ahead of 2027, insisting that the Labour Party flagbearer also opens his wallet when it matters.**
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If you have spent any time on Nigerian social media, you already know that Peter Obi’s fanbase — popularly called the Obidients — have practically built a religion around one core gospel: their man does not spray money. No stomach infrastructure. No Ghana-must-go bags. No shishi.
But Lere Olayinka, the sharp-tongued media aide to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, is here to scatter that testimony.
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“Oga Also Gives Money” — Lere Drops a Bombshell
Olayinka, never one to shy away from political fireworks, has directly challenged the widely held perception that Peter Obi — presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and frontrunner in many 2027 conversations — is somehow above the transactional nature of Nigerian politics.
According to Olayinka, the “Peter Obi no dey give money” narrative that his supporters have used as a badge of honour is, at best, incomplete — and at worst, a carefully managed illusion.
His message was clear: before Obidients gather their chests in pride over their candidate’s supposed financial restraint, they should look more carefully at what happens behind closed doors.
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Why This Statement Is Hitting Different
In Nigeria’s political landscape, the idea that a top-tier politician “doesn’t give money” is almost revolutionary. From Port Harcourt to Potiskum, politics and cash have always moved together like suya and pepper.
Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign disrupted that script — or at least appeared to. Millions of young Nigerians, fed up with the old order, rallied behind him precisely because he represented something different: a candidate who talked about investment over consumption, saving foreign reserves, and building structures rather than buying loyalty.
So when a heavyweight like Lere Olayinka — a man with deep roots in the PDP political machinery — stands up and says, “e no be so e be,” it is bound to stir the pot.
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The Bigger Picture Ahead of 2027
This back-and-forth is about far more than whether Peter Obi has ever given someone envelope money. It is about narrative control ahead of the 2027 elections, which are already shaping up to be one of the most fiercely contested in Nigeria’s democratic history.
Wike’s camp has never hidden its disdain for the Labour Party movement, and Olayinka has consistently been the one holding the megaphone. By chipping away at the “saint Peter” image, the strategy appears to be to bring Obi down from the pedestal his supporters have placed him on — and remind Nigerians that all politicians, at the end of the day, are playing the same game.
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What Do You Think?
Is Lere Olayinka simply doing his principal’s political dirty work, or does he have a point? Can any Nigerian politician truly operate without “sorting” people, or is Peter Obi genuinely a different breed?
The 2027 race is still warming up, but one thing is clear — it is already pepper soup hot. Drop your thoughts in the comments below. 👇
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