By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has warned the ruling All Progressive Congress and the APC-led Federal Government of Nigeria to desist from what he described as nasty attacks on him, in attempts to smear or run down his personality.
Obi, issued the warning in a statement on Wednesday night on his Twitter handle, in which he also broke silence on the trending leaked audio conversation between himself and the Founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo.
While stressing that the audio conversation is doctored and fake, the former Anambra State governor also revealed that he is being pressured to leave Nigeria, with the various attacks against his person, emanating from different quarters.
While referring to the recent comments of the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, alleged that the All Progressives Congress and the APC-led government are doing everything possible to “divert our attention from our blatantly stolen mandate,” which he said is “unfortunate and sad.”
He wrote, “The present attempts by the APC as a party, and the APC led-government through some government officials and agencies to divert our attention from our blatantly stolen mandate is unfortunate and sad.
“These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and a pressure on me to leave the country.
“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake, and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.”
Obi also vowed to take legal actions against the online news platform that shared the leaked audio.
He maintained that before, during, and after the campaign, he focused solely on issue-based campaigns about a new Nigeria with a shift of emphasis from consumption to production, characterised by inclusion, justice, equity, fairness, and prosperity, adding that he “repeatedly stated that no one should vote for me based on tribe or religion.”
“The attempts to manipulate Nigerians is very sad and wicked. Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.
“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the International Community to implore the APC and the APC-Led government to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our Nation.
“Elections are over, and we are in court to retrieve our stolen mandate. Let me reiterate that we are doing so through all lawful and peaceful options in line with our legal system and constitution, and I continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding,” Obi added.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammed, on Tuesday had said that Obi and his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed, risked being prosecuted for treason over some of their utterances on the February 25 presidential election, stating that the duo were inciting people over the outcome of the poll.
