President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, has knocked former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for condemning the ‘deportation’ of non-citizens by the Lagos government to Osun.

Hundreds of people were forcibly picked up by the Lagos authorities and taken to Osun.

In a statement on his official X account on Tuesday, Mr Onanuga, while describing Mr Obi as “deporter-in-chief,” accused the opposition politician of starting the ‘deportation’ of Nigerians to their home states in 2011 during his tenure as governor.

Mr Onanuga said, “Peter Obi has displayed his incurable hypocrisy again over the decision of Lagos State to send some Osun citizens back home. Obi actually began ‘deportation’ of citizens in 2011, which Governor Fashola copied in August 2013 by deporting some destitute from Anambra back home. 

“Obi not only criticised Fashola, he doubled down by writing a protest letter to then President Goodluck Jonathan. Some 11 years after, the deporter-in-chief is playing hypocrite again.” 

To prove his point, Mr Onanuga cited a news item published in December 2011 detailing Mr Obi’s arrest of 29 people in Awka and repatriation to their home states.