The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has faulted the conduct of the 2023 general elections, citing irregularities in the just concluded exercise.
Obi, 61, lost to Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by almost two million votes after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the result on Wednesday.
While Obi finished in third place polling 6,101,533, Tinubu raked in 8,794,726 to emerge the winner of the keenly contested poll.
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Addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, Obi said: “Is this what we spent billions to do? We should have used that billions to do something else and announce what we announced.”
The former Anambra Governor insisted that he won the February 25th presidential election and will explore all legal means to retrieve the mandate.
According to the LP presidential candidate, last Saturday’s poll did not meet the minimum standard of a free and fair election.
Speaking further, he appealed to his supporters to be calm, saying their support will not be in vain.
Obi explained that he and his team are committed to building a better Nigeria, expressing hope that the judiciary will help him reclaim his stolen mandate.
He described the outcome of the presidential poll as unfair, vowing to challenge the result in court.
“We will explore all legal and peaceful options to reclaim our mandate. We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians.
“I am challenging the process,” Obi declared to a room full of journalists in Nigeria’s capital city, his first media appearance after the declaration of a winner by the electoral umpire.
“This is very unfair. It is the least expected of Nigeria,” he added.
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 he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed remain committed to a new Nigeria.
