The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, asserted on Thursday that he won last Saturday’s presidential election and is prepared to provide evidence to support his claim. He described the election, which resulted in the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu, being declared the winner, as controversial and designed to produce pre-determined outcomes. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, was announced as the president-elect after receiving 8,794,726 votes in the 2023 presidential election. The announcement was made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at the International Collation Centre in Abuja during the early hours of Wednesday.
During a world press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Obi expressed his belief that the election failed to meet the necessary requirements to be considered credible. He insisted that Nigerians were deprived of their true choice and vowed to seek justice through the courts, promising to challenge the results until he could substantiate his claims. “The election that we just witnessed had been conducted and the results announced as programmed. It is a clear deviation from electoral rules and guidelines contrary to what we were promised,” he stated. Obi characterized the election as one of the most controversial in Nigeria’s history, emphasizing that the hardworking citizens of Nigeria had once again been betrayed by their leaders.
Obi reassured the Nigerian people that he would explore all legal and peaceful avenues to reclaim his mandate, asserting, “We won the election, and I will prove it to Nigerians.” He emphasized the importance of the electoral process, stating that the manner in which individuals attain positions of power is crucial. “The process through which people come into office is far more fundamental and important than what they do in office thereafter,” he explained. He argued for the necessity of a sanitized electoral process, insisting that those in power must earn their positions through excellence to inspire confidence and moral authority.
Having successfully challenged several election results in the past, Obi expressed his determination to approach the court regarding the presidential election, stating, “On this issue, I am challenging the process. I will challenge this rascality for the future of the country.” He affirmed that the court exists for such matters and that he would indeed pursue legal action. When asked if he felt pressured, he responded that no one could intimidate him into abandoning his challenge against what he termed “rascality.”
Obi concluded by emphasizing that this moment marks not the end but the beginning of a journey toward a new Nigeria. He and his running mate, Datti, remain committed to building a nation founded on honesty, transparency, fairness, justice, and equity, noting that all of this begins with a proper electoral process. “We have to go through this darkness. The structure of criminality can’t go out overnight,” he acknowledged, expressing his commitment to resilience and leadership through the challenges ahead. “I will be at the forefront and will work through this darkness until daybreak,” Obi vowed.
Comments are closed for this story.