The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi has alleged last Saturday’s poll was programmed to deliver pre-determined results.
Obi stated this on Thursday said he will not call for violence in reclaiming the polls which he “rightly” won, but will also not build peace on a faulty foundation of injustice.
APC’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on Wednesday declared President-Elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), many faulted the electoral process including Mr Peter Obi who was of the opinion that the Labour was the winner of the polls.
“If you must answer his excellency, the process by which you arrived at the office must be excellent,” Obi said.
“We will explore all legal and peaceful option to reclaim our mandate. We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians. I am challenging the process,” Obi vowed.
In his reaction to the question of peace for the sake of the nation, Mr Obi said he has never called for violence since the results were declared, he however noted that if peace means allowing things to stand without challenging the process legally, then that is a line he will not toe.
“I have had several phone calls where I asked people to remain calm and peaceful, that has nothing to do with what I am challenging, I am challenging the process,” Obi enunciated.
Just at the commencement of the briefing, Obi observed a one-minute silence for all injured and deceased victims of the February 25 poll.
Also in attendance at the briefing is the party’s National Chairman, Julius Abure; as well as the director general of Obi’s presidential campaign, Akin Osuntokun.
He also said himself and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed remain committed to a new Nigeria.
He effusively thanked his youthful followers known as ‘Obidients’, urging them not to be deterred by the outcome of the polls.
“We will work for that new Nigeria that is possible,” he said. “Datti and I remain committed to that new Nigeria.”
He assured youths in the country that he is not going away but will stay and work for a new Nigeria.
He said the poll did not meet the minimum standard for a free and fair election, adding that the poll will go down as the most controversial election conducted in Nigeria.
Obi lamented that Nigeria cannot conduct election 63 years after independence.
The former Anambra State governor further stated that “if a process is faulty, it is faulty, in fact, you can’t build peace on a faulty foundation, it cannot happen anywhere in the world”.
He said the foundation has to be right for peace to prevail, adding that it is the foundation of the process that saw Tinubu emerge that will be challenged.
Obi pleaded with Nigerians to support this cause, noting that this challenge is about the ordinary Nigerian and the future of the nation.
