‘I Never Said 2023 Election Is Religious War’ – Peter Obi

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has refuted a purportedly leaked phone call between himself and the founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide aka Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo.

An online medium had published the audio clip, prompting tensions between Obi’s supporters popularly known as Obidients and lots of their political opponents, both online and offline.

While Oyedepo on Sunday declared he had never campaigned for any politician or spoken to any group on their behalf, Obi did not speak publicly until two days later, when he replied to claims made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Obi took to Twitter on Wednesday to reject the authenticity of the audio, arguing that he consistently maintained his focus on an issue-based campaign, while pursuing a new Nigeria characterised 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!” he said.

Obi denounced what he described as present attempts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the APC-led government through some government officials and agencies to divert attention from “our blatantly stolen mandate.”

According to him, these have manifested 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”.

He added, “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.”

While condemning the attempts to “manipulate” Nigerians, which he stated that is “very sad and wicked”, the LP candidate said that his legal team had been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against the online medium in question and others.

The former Anambra governor encouraged all concerned Nigerians and the international Community to implore the APC and the APC led-government to stop “their nasty attacks”.

He added that his focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully “retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our Nation”, among other aspirations, remain unchanged.