Politics
2023 Election: Peter Obi Pledges To Utilize All Legal Options In Regaining Mandate
Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, held a press conference today in Abuja where he emphasized that the announcement of a winner in the recently concluded presidential election did not mark the end of the political process.
This is the first public statement made by Obi since his defeat in the 2023 presidential race.
Obi said, “We will explore all the legal and peaceful means to reclaim our mandate. We won the election. Datti and I are committed to the mandate of Nigerians.”
“This is very unfair. It is the least expected of Nigeria,” he said.
Before the commencement of the briefing, Obi hold a one minute silence for the deceased as well as the injured during the February 25th presidential election.
Those in attendance at the briefing is, Julius Abure the party’s National Chairman as well as the director general of Obi’s presidential campaign, Akin Osuntokun.
He also said himself and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed remain committed to a new Nigeria.
He further expressed his gratitude to his youthful followers known as ‘Obidients’, urging them not to be deterred by the outcome of the polls.
Obi assured youths in the country that he is not going away but will stay and work for a new Nigeria.
The former governor of Anambra State said the structure that has created one hundred and thirty-three million people living in multidimensional poverty can’t go away overnight. “We will walk through darkness until daybreak,” he said.
He has therefore declared his intention to challenge the validity of the presidential election that took place on Saturday, February 25th, through legal means.
When asked about any evidence he may have regarding potential manipulation of the election, Obi declined to answer and instead stated that he would address such matters through the legal process.
Recall that the Labour Party had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) process of collating results from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held last Saturday.
According to the Labour Party, numerous members were intentionally deprived of their voting rights through various tactics across the country, with a particular focus on their strongholds..
In a statement released on Sunday by the National Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the Labour Party asserted that while it had garnered significant support in many parts of Northern Nigeria, its members were intentionally impeded from voting through violent means or by having ballot papers and boxes destroyed and burnt in other regions.
The party specifically cited incidents in Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe, and Edo states as examples of where such illegal activities occurred in clear violation of the amended 2022 Electoral Act.
Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim further stated that in certain areas, INEC staff and electoral materials were not sent to locations known to be strongholds of the Labour Party or were deployed late, thereby causing frustration for party supporters who were psychologically exhausted from waiting and felt compelled to leave the polling units out of fear for their safety.
“The delay by INEC to upload and announce results, especially where Labour Party, is already known to have taken lead, is also worrisome and we feel it is deliberate to anger our party and our supporters” he said.
LP called on INEC to checkmate and call its polling staff to order and also ensure punitive measures in line with the electoral Act 2022 as amended.
The Labour Party National Secretary assured that the party would definitely challenge the outcome and final result in court.
He however called on the party members and supporters to be calm, remain law abiding, but be encouraged with their efforts so far, and mobilise even more for the next round of elections, as the party takes steps to right the wrong meted out to her in the Saturday presidential and National Assembly Elections.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, has hit back at his former running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, insisting that he has the experience and capacity to improve Nigeria.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said his record in the state demonstrated what he could achieve at the national level if elected president.
Baba-Ahmed, who was Obi’s running mate on the Labour Party ticket in the 2023 presidential election, had recently said that none of the politicians challenging President Bola Tinubu in 2027, including Obi, could improve the country.
SEE MORE: 2027: ‘Nobody Owns Rivers Votes’ — ADC Fires Back at Wike
However, speaking in an interview previewed by Arise Television on Monday, Obi rejected the assessment, saying, “I passed through Anambra State, and I improved the state in critical areas of development. And I can do the same thing in Nigeria.”
The former Anambra governor said his administration would prioritise good governance, reduce waste and tackle corruption if given the opportunity to lead the country.
“I am sure that if given the opportunity, first I will bring civility and order in governance, and I will be able to cut costs of governance, which is irresponsible today. I will be able to do quite a number of things that will bring honour and respect to the country,” Obi said.
He also outlined some of the measures he intends to pursue, including fighting corruption, reducing waste, strengthening law and order and ensuring credible elections.
“I will fight corruption; I will deal with issues of waste, law and order, and rigging won’t take place under my watch; political parties will function, and things will be done properly,” he said.
According to Obi, national unity and security would also be among his major priorities, alongside investments in healthcare and education and efforts to reduce poverty.
“I will focus on our priorities to unite the country, as it’s not united today, and secure the country. Secondly, secure the country.
Thirdly, to ensure we prioritise critical areas of development, like health, education and pulling people out of poverty,” Obi added.
Datti’s Position
Baba-Ahmed made his comments during an interview on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye and posted on Saturday.
“I will simply advise Uncle (Tinubu) to please prepare to hand over and move away, but not to the people contesting against him because none of them will improve Nigeria,” he said.
When asked whether he was referring to all
the opposition candidates, Baba-Ahmed replied, “Tinubu should leave the stage. All those people contesting against him, too—they were all in bed together at some point or another.”
Asked specifically whether he was referring to Peter Obi, Baba-Ahmed said, “Including Peter Obi, I’m sorry to say.”
The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress has hit back at Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his prediction that ADC vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi would be defeated in the 2027 election.
The ADC warned that elections are not won through boasting, intimidation or political declarations, stressing that the people of Rivers State would ultimately determine who wins at the polls.
The state chairman of the party, Chukwudi Dimkpa, made the remarks in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday.
SEE MORE: ‘It’s a Lie’ — Wike’s Aide Debunks Peter Obi’s ‘No Shishi’ Claim
Dimkpa was reacting to comments reportedly made by Wike during a civic reception organised in his honour by the Ikwerre Local Government Area in Omagwa on Saturday.
Wike had reportedly stated that Amaechi would be defeated by 12 noon on election day.
But Dimkpa dismissed the declaration, insisting that the former Rivers State governor’s political fate would be determined by voters and the electoral process.
“Elections are not won by boasts, intimidation or political strongmen announcing results in advance. Rivers people will vote, the votes will be counted, and INEC, not Wike, will declare the winner,” he said.
The ADC chairman also condemned the decision to hold the political reception around the same period Amaechi was burying his mother, Dame Ezinne Amaechi, in Ubima.
According to him, Wike and the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Charles Wobodo, used the occasion to attack and taunt Amaechi while sympathisers from across the country were travelling to the community for the burial.
Dimkpa described the development as “insensitive, provocative and embarrassing.”
He questioned why Wike’s political rivalry with Amaechi could not be put aside, even temporarily, during the burial.
“If Wike could not suspend his political obsession with Amaechi even for the few hours in which the man was laying his mother to rest, then Rivers people should ask themselves who really is consumed by this rivalry,” he stated.
The ADC chairman said his party had deliberately refrained from responding immediately because its focus was on ensuring that Amaechi’s mother received a befitting burial.
He, however, warned that no individual or political leader should assume ownership of Rivers State or its electorate.
“Rivers State belongs to all of us. Nobody owns the people, nobody owns their votes, and certainly, nobody can declare an election result by 12 noon,” Dimkpa said.
He urged Rivers voters to reject intimidation and make their choice based on the candidate they believe can deliver meaningful development and improve their lives.
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has called on Governor Francis Nwifuru to apologise to residents or resign over his recent comments concerning the 2027 general elections.
The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Darlington Peter-Onwe, made the demand during a live radio programme on Friday, describing the governor’s remarks as capable of stoking political violence ahead of the elections.
Peter-Onwe was reacting to Nwifuru’s directive to newly sworn-in local government chairmen to ensure that the All Progressives Congress wins their respective councils in the 2027 elections or risk being removed from office.
SEE MORE: 2027: Massive Turnout as Adebutu, Iyabo Obasanjo Kick Off PDP Campaign in Ogun
“The Governor should apologise to Ebonyians or resign. He should retract the statement or step down because he has violated the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy,” Peter-Onwe stated.
“Section 14 of the Constitution explicitly provides that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property. By making such statements, he is now the one insinuating violence.”
The PDP’s reaction followed comments made by Nwifuru during the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected local government chairmen and their deputies in Abakaliki on Tuesday.
While dismissing allegations of harassment and intimidation of political critics by APC members and supporters, the governor warned opposition politicians that they would “see real threats at the right time.”
Nwifuru also charged the council chairmen to ensure that the opposition does not win their respective local government areas in 2027.
“You must not allow the opposition to win in your respective local government councils during the 2027 general elections,” the governor told the chairmen.
“Any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office.
“We will use your councillor and remove you.
“If you allow anybody to come to your Local Government council and mess up, deal with that person mercilessly.”
The governor further said he deliberately made the remarks publicly because politicians do not speak in secret.
“I want this information to make the headlines because, as politicians, we do not speak in secret,” he said.
Reacting further, Peter-Onwe compared Nwifuru’s approach with that of Abia State Governor Alex Otti, whom he described as an example of leadership accountability.
“Look at what Governor Alex Otti did when there was a disruption in the education sector. He came out openly and apologised, admitting that it shouldn’t have happened.
That is the true strength of a leader,” he added.
The PDP spokesperson also alleged that the governor’s comments had contributed to hostility against opposition members and media practitioners in the state.
The development comes amid growing political activities and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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