Bye-Election: Onanuga, Omokri Taunt, Mock Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai

By Adesina Soyooye

The very poor performance of the Parties and Candidates backed by opposition leaders in the just concluded Bye- Election into the State and National Assemblies, has attracted to them taunts and mockery from main Presidential Spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga and a former adversary- turned core loyalist and defender of President Bola Tinubu, Reno Omokri.

The opposition leaders picked to mock and taunt are Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in both the 2019 and 2023 Presidential elections, Peter Obi, two-term Governor of Anambra State, PDP Vice Presidential Candidate, 2019, and Labour Party Presidential Candidate, 2023, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, two-term Governor of Kaduna State and former chieftain of the APC.

The three are leaders in the new Coalition of the opposition under the African Democratic Congress, ADC, through which, they insist, both Tinubu and his Party, the APC would be sacked in 2027.

The Bye-Election held on Saturday, August 16, was an opportunity for them to show what they have. Given what they had been claiming, and the quality of those who joined the Coalition, expectations were high that the Candidates they backed would win; that the ADC would make some impact. But no.

The results turned an anti-climax. A  disappointment. Their Candidates and parties were roundly routed. Not one of them won.

Mocking them over the monumental losses, Onanuga, posted their photographs on his social media platform, with a  one-liner but pregnant question: “How is the market?”, he mockingly asked them.

In same vein,  Omokri, on Sunday, posted that Obi and El-Rufai were so much shcked by the outcome, and still not recovered from their poor performances at the polls, that they forgot to send birthday congratulatory message to former Military President, General  Ibrahim Babangida, who turned 84 years on August 17, 2025. When they recover, he mocked, they would blame rigging for their poor performance.

Omokri: “Neither Obi nor El-Rufai has recovered enough to wish General Babangida a happy  birthday as he turns 84 today (Sunday, August 17).

“These are people who previously marked IBB’s birthday. Today they lost their voices. This loss really hit Tom and Jerry hard.

“Peter Obi has still not tweeted today. Nasir El-Rufai is still in hiding. This loss really hit Tom and Jerry hard.

“By tomorrow, after they must have recovered, expect claims of rigging from Peter Obi and his new sidekick, Nasir El-Rufai, the duo, also known as Tom and Jerry.”