The Labour Party says its presidential candidate, Peter Obi is under pressure from agents of the Nigerian government and the ruling party to abandon his election petition in the court and flee the country.
In a press statement by the party’s presidential campaign council on Thursday, the party alleged that “state institutions have become part of a well calculated, deliberate and orchestrated campaign of calumny by the APC to discredit and delegitimise Mr Peter Obi and compel him to abandon his right to seek redress in court”.
Obi has “been repeatedly and categorically told that he has a choice to leave Nigeria or face the prospect of being arrested on false charges of inciting insurrection in the country”, the statement said.
The statement claims a recent viral “fake doctored audio call” in which Obi was portrayed soliciting the help of a church leader to reach out to Christian voters, and which was “translated to other Nigerian languages and circulated in most parts of Northern Nigeria” was part of the “grand design”.
However, according to the statement, a defiant Obi has “no intention to leave the country at this time. He is determined as he had stated in his first and only press conference after the election to challenge the outcome of the election and the process”.
Mr Obi contends he won the February 25 vote but his rival Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC was wrongfully declared the winner. He has since gone to the country’s election tribunal for redress.
The court has 180 days to give its judgement although democratic voices express concern the verdict may come too late after the president-elect has been sworn in on May 29 and assumed the full powers of an incumbent.
In a post-election situation which seems to be escalating, Nigeria’s government through its information minister on Wednesday in the United States accused both Obi and his vice presidential candidate Datti Ahmed of treason and inciting insurrection but offered no specific instances.
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