In a press conference held on Thursday in Abuja, Peter Obi, the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP) in Nigeria’s just-concluded presidential election, faulted Nigeria’s inability to conduct free and fair elections 63 years after independence. Obi vowed to challenge what he called “electoral rascality” in court and explore all legal options to reclaim his mandate.
“We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians,” Obi declared to a room full of journalists at Nigeria’s capital city, his first media appearance after the declaration of a winner by the electoral umpire. “I am challenging the process,” he continued, “this is very unfair. It is the least expected of Nigeria.
“Obi’s remarks come in the wake of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the winner of the February 25 election, with over 8 million votes, defeating his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr Obi. The former governor of Anambra State, stated that his party had already gathered substantial evidence of irregularities and malpractices during the election and that they will be challenging the results in court.
“We are convinced that the results were manipulated . We have evidence to prove that. We will not sit back and watch our democracy being toyed with,” he told newsmen. “If you must be referred to as ‘your excellency’ then the process through which you arrived in office must be excellent,”
Obi said, highlighting the importance of free and fair elections in a democracy.Obi also appealed to the youth of the country to vote in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections and also stay calm.
“I am appealing to the youths. This is a long-distance journey. I will be there with you and go through this darkness with you. I will not go away. We will walk through this darkness till the day breaks,” he added.