Meanwhile, Kenneth Okonkwo, LP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) spokesperson, and Valentine Obienyem, a spokesperson for Mr Obi confirmed the authenticity of the audio…
Presidential candidate Peter Obi and the Presidential Campaign Council of his party, the Labour Party (LP), have denied the leaked audio of the conversation between Obi and the founder of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, describing it as ‘faked and doctored’
In separate statements, they also threatened to take legal action against a newspaper, People’s Gazette, which first published the audio that had stirred controversy.
Obi, who lost in the 2023 presidential election, made his stance known in a series of tweets Wednesday night.
He wrote, “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”
The opposition candidate alleged that there was an attempt to manipulate Nigerians against him.
“The attempts to manipulate Nigerians is very sad and wicked. Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.”
Also, in a statement issued by Tanko Yunusa, the chief spokesperson of the Obi-Datti Campaign Council on Wednesday, it described the leaked audio in circulation as a “fake doctored audio call”.
It emphasised that at no time throughout the campaign did Obi ever describe the 2023 election as a religious war.
“As part of the grand design, they are circulating a fake doctored audio call. At no time throughout the campaign did Mr Peter Obi ever say, think or even imply that the 2023 election is or was a religious war. It is very sad and wicked the attempts to manipulate Nigerians,” Mr Yunusa wrote.
“Our legal team has been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.”
Last Saturday, the social media space, especially Twitter, was awash with controversy over a leaked telephone conversation (now dubbed “Yes Daddy”) between LP’s Obi and Bishop Oyedepo.
In the audio clip, Obi was heard asking Oyedepo to help spread his campaign message to Christians in the South-west and parts of North-central.
While repeatedly addressing the cleric as “daddy”, the LP standard-bearer told Oyedepo that the just concluded presidential election was a “religious war.”
“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara,” Mr Obi was heard saying in the leaked audio clip.
“This is a religious war,” he added.
Oyedepo responded “I believe that, I believe that, I believe that,” and Obi on the other side of the phone said: “If this works, you people will never regret the support.”
After the audio was released by People’s Gazette, fact-checkers at the FIJ investigated the audio and concluded that it was original and not doctored.
Ahead of the presidential election, critics of Obi have accused him of playing politics of ethnicity and religion, which he lost but has challenged in court. Obi came third in the election but he, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who came second, is challenging the victory of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC.
Obi has denied playing politics of religion and ethnicity and asked his critics to provide evidence. The leaked file appears to have substantiated the position of the critics.
Meanwhile, Kenneth Okonkwo, LP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) spokesperson, and Valentine Obienyem, a spokesperson for Mr Obi, Sunday, confirmed the authenticity of the audio but gave a different interpretation of the conversation.
Read the LP’s full statement below:
Labor Party Presidential Campaign Council, Press Release:
Disturbing Emerging Developments in Nigeria!
1. We continue to thank all Nigerians especially the youths and Obidients as they have remained focused on the core mission of a New Nigeria That Is Possible, even after the presidential elections of 25th February 2023.
2. Before, throughout and after the campaigns, it is on record that Mr Peter Obi maintained his commitment and focus on issues-based campaigns, about a New Nigeria That is Possible, a shift of emphasis from consumption to production, a New Nigeria characterised by inclusion, justice, equity, fairness and prosperity. He repeatedly stated that no one should vote for him based on Tribe or Religion, but rather on the assessment of Character, Competence, Capacity, Credibility and Compassion you can trust to create a New Nigeria!
3. Most unfortunately, in the past few weeks, Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the February 25th, 2023 presidential election has been contacted by associates, elder statesmen, family and friends with concerns for his personal safety. These concerns have increased intensely in the last few days as immense pressure has been mounted directly on Mr. Obi to leave the country, no doubt from sources allied to the All-Progressive Congress (APC) and its agents in the security services. Mr Obi has been repeatedly and categorically told that he has a choice to leave the country or face the prospect of being arrested on false charges of inciting insurrection in the country.
4. It is difficult to fathom and indeed unfortunate and regrettable that state institutions have become part of a well calculated, deliberate and orchestrated campaign of calumny by the APC to discredit and delegitimize Mr Peter Obi and compel him to abandon his right to seek redress in court following the outcome of the last election which was adjudged both locally and internationally to have failed to meet any standard of credibility or fairness.
5. As part of the grand design, they are circulating a fake doctored audio call. At no time throughout the campaign did Mr Peter Obi ever say, think or even imply that the 2023 election is or was a religious war. It is very sad and wicked the attempts to manipulate Nigerians. Our legal team has been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others.
6. Despite the public denunciation of the fake audio call, its contents have been translated to other Nigerian languages and circulated in most parts of Northern Nigeria with some of our Moslem clerics deceived and instigated to use the contents for their sermons at various Mosques during the usual Friday prayers. This is a dangerous development at a time when the APC led-government and the APC party which have been awarded undeserved and unfair victory should be more concerned in addressing the ethnic and religious frictions unfortunately created by the outcome of the elections.
7. Yet unsatisfied but determined to cause more problems, Mr Lai Mohammed, who fancies himself as modern day Gobbeal is on a tour of some selected countries to present an alternative story about the 2023 discredited election, and from his first statement in Washington have assumed the role of the courts by stating that Mr Obi has no pathway to victory. This is a direct intimidation of the courts and a waste of taxpayers’ money (Nigeria’s money).
8. There are many more campaigns of calumny against Mr Peter Obi planned for the near future both before and during the court process. However, we want to make it clear to the APC party, APC led-government and its agents that Mr Peter Obi a widely traveled man has no intention to leave the country at this time irrespective of the pressure on him and his family. 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 has begun. It is his fundamental right!
9. While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the International Community to caution APC and the APC Led-government to stop their nasty attacks, Mr Peter Obi’s 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 remains unchanged.
10. He has continued to impress upon his supporters the essence of the legal process and will not now or in the future encourage any violence against the state. He has absolutely no reason for this nor desperate especially as throughout the campaign, he called for a new Nigeria defined by opportunities for all, an end to poverty and criminality in government, especially corruption and an end to tribal and religious division and bigotry.
11. It is for these reasons that we appeal to revered religious leaders especially in the North not to be part of the grand design of the state apparatus to further increase the religious and ethnic divide in the country. Irrespective of the outcome of the court process, we have the obligation to strive for the peace and co-existence of all Nigerians. We call on President Buhari to rein in his desperate officials at all levels as their actions or inactions could lead to unnecessary crisis in the country.
12. 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.
13. 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 deliberate non-adherence to the election process, the parlous state of our economy, unsustainable debt burden, lamentable unemployment and inflation, insecurity and multidimensional poverty. A New Nigeria is Indeed Possible and God will help us.
