Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, said Peter Obi used religious rhetoric to secure votes during the 2023 presidential election [1].

These allegations highlight the ongoing tension between the current administration and the supporters of the former Labour Party candidate, specifically regarding the authenticity of digital campaigning and the role of faith in Nigerian politics.

Bwala said Obi leveraged religious sentiment to attract voters in the February 2023 contest [1]. He said much of the online support for Obi, often referred to as "Obidients," was not organic. "Most of Obi’s online supporters are bots, not real people," Bwala said [2].

According to reports, Obi secured over 6.1 million votes in the 2023 presidential election [1]. Bwala said the perceived popularity of the candidate was inflated through these automated online activities, a claim that challenges the narrative of a grassroots digital movement.

Obi has pushed back against the implications of Bwala's statements. Regarding the nature of their professional or political interaction, Obi said, "I never sought Mr. Bwala’s assistance for my campaign" [1].

The dispute centers on whether the 2023 results reflected a genuine shift in voter behavior or a calculated use of religious appeal and technological manipulation. While Bwala said the religious rhetoric was a primary tool for garnering votes, the discrepancy between digital engagement and physical votes remains a point of contention between the two political camps [1, 2].

“"Peter Obi used religion to garner votes in the 2023 election."”

The conflict reflects a broader struggle over the legitimacy of digital influence in Nigerian elections. By attributing Obi's success to bots and religious sentiment, the Tinubu administration seeks to undermine the narrative that the 2023 election saw a fundamental shift toward a third-party alternative. This discourse underscores the volatility of political communication in Nigeria, where the intersection of faith and technology often becomes a primary battleground for legitimacy.