5th April, 2023
Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi has said the purported leaked audio call between him and Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church, is fake.
A leaked audio call purportedly between Obi and Oyedepo hits the social media few days ago, where the LP’s presidential candidate was quoted as saying the 2023 presidential election is a religious war between Christians and Muslims.
Speaking on the leaked audio call for the first time in series of tweets on his Twitter handle on Wednesday night, Obi said the present attempts by the APC as a Party, and the APC led-government through some government officials and agencies to divert attention from the blatantly stolen mandate, was unfortunate and sad.
“These have come and continued to manifest 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.
“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,” he said.
Obi said he would continue to thank all Nigerians, especially the youths and the Obidients, as they had remained focused on the core mission of a New Nigeria that is possible even after the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
“Before, during, and after the campaign, it is on record that I have maintained my commitment and focus on issue-based campaign about a New Nigeria that is possible, a shift of emphasis from consumption to production, a New Nigeria characterized 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 added.
Obi stated that the attempts to manipulate Nigerians was very sad and wicked, saying his legal team had been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against the Peoples Gazette and others.
“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the International Community to implore the APC and the APC Led-government to stop their nasty attacks, my 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 remain unchanged.
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.