The Presidency has lambasted the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last presidential election Peter Obi for casting aspersions on the Judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over his failure at the polls and in the courts.
Obi, on Monday, addressed a press conference in Abuja titled : “From courtrooms to National Conscience: Our democracy is the victim” during which he expressed his views on the recent judgement of the Supreme Court, which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election, accusing the apex court of an aversion to public opinion and abandoning its responsibility as a court of law and policy.
However, in a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency lampooned Obi, saying he suffered a grand delusion for assuming he could be declared a winner in an election where he came a distant third and where he allegedly ran the most divisive and polarising campaigns.
According to the statement, though Obi attempted disparaging the judiciary at his press conference by claiming that the Supreme Court did not consider feelings in public, he contradict himself as he already acknowledged that he had been a beneficiary of the judicial system in the past.
It wondered how he had hoped the judgement would go when he failed to prove how he won the election, even as his arguments failed to prove his case in court, having provided what has been described as the “most watery and unreasonable” petition in the history of electoral cases in the country.
“Labour Party Presidential candidate in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi, addressed a press conference, just like Atiku Abubakar, where he cast aspersions on the Supreme Court and the Independent National Electoral Commission for not declaring him the winner of the February 25, 2023 election.
“We are at a loss as to how the copy-cat Obi and his faction of Labour Party convinced themselves they won an election in which they came a distant third.
“The grand delusion that made Mr. Obi believe he could have won a national election where he ran the most hateful, divisive and polarising campaign that pitched Christians against Muslims and one ethnic group against the other in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria should be a matter for deeper examination.
“At the press conference where he tried, in vain, to gaslight Nigerians with false claims and innuendos, Mr. Obi contradicted himself. Here was a beneficiary of judicial pronouncements in the past now castigating the same court because its judgment did not go his way.
“Mr. Obi claimed the Supreme Court justices didn’t consider public opinion in delivering what has been applauded as a most profound judgement in an election appeal where the Labour Party candidate presented the most watery and unreasonable petition before any court in the history of electoral cases in Nigeria.
“He made false allegations of rigging and other electoral malpractices, yet could not produce any evidence to back up his claims at both the court of first instance and at the apex court. In a failed effort to mobilise and retain the support of his supporters, Obi gave them a forlorn hope that he won the election and would prove it before the courts. Throughout the trial, his lawyers didn’t present any alternative results different from the results INEC uploaded on the IReV portal and the ones signed by all party agents from the 176,000 polling units.
“We wonder how the Labour Party candidate expected the courts to do justice on the basis of rumours, lies and false narratives by sponsored partisans and fanatical members of his Obidient Movement.
“We expected the Labour Party candidate to know that the Supreme Court or any other court does not give judgment based on public opinion and mob sentiments. Judicial pronouncements are based on evidence, precedents and the rule of law,” it said.
The Presidency admonished Obi to quit the fight and find other fruitful engagements to devote his time to, even as he was advised to prove his love to the country by joining other people of goodwill to support the Tinubu administration in the task of setting the nation on the path of progress and prosperity.
“Having admitted that the Supreme Court ruling brought an end to litigation and any challenge to the bona-fide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the validly elected leader of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Obi should have congratulated President Tinubu for his victory and pledge his support, in the spirit of statesmanship.
“But instead, he brought up extraneous matters that he thought the apex court should have considered to declare him the winner. In our view, the drowning Obi, just like Atiku, was merely attempting to hold on to a straw in raking up new allegations, which exist only in his imagination and that of his hordes of supporters.
“Our admonition to Mr. Peter Obi is to find another worthwhile vocation to engage his time henceforth, having been rejected by majority of Nigerians who didn’t consider him qualified to lead our country.
“Nigerians rejected Peter Obi and his demagoguery at the poll because he posed present and future danger to the peace, progress and stability of our country.
“Obi’s antecedents as Governor of Anambra for eight years didn’t inspire any confidence as someone capable of running a country like Nigeria. No tangible records of achievement in the state he governed recommended him for the Presidency of Nigeria.
“If Mr. Peter Obi truly believes in Nigeria, the time to prove it is now when all men and women of goodwill are rallying support for President Tinubu in his determination to lead a new era of prosperity, inclusive governance and economic growth in Nigeria.
“Finally, we welcome Obi and his party to play the role of the opposition and start preparing for another shot at the presidency in 2027.
We hope by then he would campaign on issues and not whip up religious and ethnic sentiments as he did in the last campaign,” the statement reads.
