. Vows to reclaim mandate through court
. Rues nation’s inability to hold untainted democratic elections
By Louis Achi
The presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, has formally reacted to the outcome of the February 25, 2023 presidential poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, National Chairman, and Chief Returning Officer, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, had declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the winner.
Obi, at a press conference in Abuja, held twenty-four hours after the results were announced, emotionally declared that he won the poll and would take the legal route to reclaim the mandate which the vast majority of Nigerians gave to him but which was stolen.
According to him, “We will explore all legal and peaceful options to reclaim our mandate. We won the election, and we will prove it to Nigerians. I am challenging the process.”
Before he addressed Nigerians, Obi had observed a one-minute silence for all slain victims of the February 25 election.
The briefing was attended by the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure, and the director general of Obi’s presidential campaign, Akin Osuntokun.
He also stated that he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, were committed to building a new Nigeria.
He thanked his young supporters, known as ‘Obidients,’ and urged them not to be discouraged by the election results.
“We will work for that new Nigeria that is possible,” he said. “Datti and I remain committed to that new Nigeria.”
He assured the country’s youth that he would not leave and would continue to work for a new Nigeria.
He said that the poll did not meet the minimum standard for a free and fair election and that it would be remembered as the most contentious election ever held in Nigeria.
Obi bemoaned Nigeria’s inability to hold elections 63 years after independence.
