Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the February 25, 2023 elections, has broken his silence over the leaked audio conversation between him and the Founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo.
Prompt News recalls that in the trending audio, Mr. Obi was heard soliciting for Bishop Oyedepo’s support to help mobilise Christians in the south-west and Kwara and likened the 2023 presidential election to a “religious war”.
Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria, described the audio conversation as fake, threatening to sue Peoples Gazette, the online platform that broke the story and released the audio conversation.
He also claimed that he’s being pressured by agents of the APC-led federal government to go on exile.
In a series of tweets, Obi states: “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.
“Before, during, and after the campaign, it is on record that I have maintained my commitment and focus on issue-based campaigns about a New Nigeria that is possible, a shift of emphasis from consumption to production, a New Nigeria characterized by inclusion, justice, equity, fairness, and prosperity.
“I repeatedly stated that no one should vote for me based on tribe or religion, but rather on the assessment of character, competence, capacity, credibility, and compassion that can be trusted to create a New Nigeria!.
“The attempts to manipulate Nigerians is very sad and wicked.
“Our legal team has 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, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty especially in the North, and jumpstart prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged.
“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.
“Those fixated with heating up the polity, creating divisions, tensions and hatred within and outside Nigeria should remember that Nigeria is our only country. Our focus should be on how to address the litany of challenges facing us, such as: flawed electoral processes, the parlous state of our economy, unsustainable debt burden, lamentable unemployment and inflation, insecurity, and multi-dimensional poverty. A New Nigeria is indeed POssible, and God will help us.”
Prompt News reports that many Nigerians have been reacting to the leaked audio conversation even as Bishop Oyedepo in his reaction said he has never campaigned for any political party.
