Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), on Monday, said he was only challenging the process that led to the declarations of Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the president-elect in the February 25 presidential election.
Peter Obi while responding to questions when he appeared on the Arise Television breakfast show, on Monday, noted that he has no ill feelings against the APC presidential candidate, whom he described as “my senior brother”.
Obi was emphatic on his condemnation of the process, under which the election was conducted.
The LP candidate said it was clear, “that a compromised and incompetent process could not produce a legitimate or an acceptable outcome.
Recall that Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed had since the INEC declarations, rejected the process and conclusions arrived by INEC, with respect to the February 25 presidential election.
Obi stated that the Labour Party remained convinced that the election “was carried out with disregard for law and due process, and with overbearing evidence of malfunctions, discrepancies, interference, intimidation, thuggery, alterations and criminality”.
Obi also stated that his support for Labour Party’s governorship and state assembly candidates in next Saturday’s election was 100 percent.
Obi said that all LP candidates who got the ticket through the normal process enjoyed his total commitment and support and he was urging the people to vote for them on Saturday.
He mentioned in particular states like Enugu(Chijioke Edeoga), Lagos (Gbadebo Patrick Rhodes-Vivour), Abia Alex Otti, Delta (Deacon Ken Pela), Kaduna, (Johnathan Asake) Plateau ( Sunday Patrick Dakum), among others and urged Obidients in these states to give them maximum support on Saturday because with them a foundation for a new Nigeria of our dream will be realised.
The LP flag bearer also disclosed that in some states where Labour Party has no flag bearer, the Obidients should identify and vote for competent persons in other parties who have character and capacity and who share in the aspiration of a new Nigeria.
He said that there were still some Nigerians in other political parties who believe in the Obidient aspirations, pointing out that such people should be fished where we have no candidate and vote for them.
Obi, while also reacting to the position of some Nigerians that the outcome of the February 25, 2023, presidential election, should be seen and accepted as the wish of God, said that the problem of Nigeria is accepting what is wrong and unacceptable as God’s wish for the country.
He urged Nigerians not to accept bad things in the name of God, adding that “God doesn’t wish bad things for people and it’s these things that the Obidient Movement is trying to change.
“The problem of Nigeria is accepting what is unacceptable. That’s not God’s wish.
God’s wish is when you do the right thing. Is it God’s wish that we remain poor as a country despite his abundant blessings on us?”
He said that Nigeria has remained decadent in a continuous state of moral decline because they keep accepting what is wrong and dragging God into it, but noted that the Obidient Movement was in the system to change it and create a new egalitarian society.
On the claim of some persons that he took away PDP votes and helped Bola Tinubu to win, Obi said he was not contesting to help anybody but to win and by records, Nigerians made that happen despite the abracadabra by the INEC.
On the ethnic tension in Lagos State over his victory on the February 25 poll ahead of the governorship election, Obi said it’s not ethnic but some mischievous persons trying to create such an impression, pointing out that many more non-Igbos and Yorubas who share the aspiration for new Nigeria, voted for him.
He explained that even if Igbos voted for him, this was not the first time they were voting for people, as they had voted massively for Olusegun Obasanjo even when he lost an election in his region and they also gave Jonathan more votes than South-South states and all this brouhaha did not happen.
