Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, addressed a press conference in Abuja today, stating that the declaration of a winner in the just-concluded presidential election was not the end.
It is the first time Obi will speak to the public or address a press conference after losing the 2023 presidential election.
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.”
When asked to present evidence on how the election was manipulated, Obi simply said he doesn’t want to answer questions on his way to the court.
Recall that the Labour Party had earlier faulted the process of collating the result of last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying it will challenge the outcome in court.
LP alleged that most of its members were deliberately disenfranchised through varied means across the country, but were more discerning in its strongholds.
The party in a statement on Sunday issued by the National of Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim said while the party made inroads with high votes in most parts of Northern Nigeria, LP members were deliberately prevented from voting, chased away violently
from polling units, or had ballot papers and boxes destroyed and burnt in others.
He cited Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe, and Edo states as places where such acts were rampantly perpetrated in violation of the electoral act 2022 as amended.
Umar said in some places, INEC staff and electoral materials were not deployed to areas that are known to be strongholds of the Labour Party or deployed late to frustrate the party supporters who, psychologically got tired of waiting and had to leave the polling units for the fear of the unknown.
