Peter Obi: We won, we will explore all legal, peaceful means to reclaim out mandate

We are dealing with people who  have made up their minds that we will not succeed but we have made up our mind that we will succeed. God is on our side because we are doing the right thing. We are committed to the process. Please go out next Saturday and vote for Labour Party and I assure you that we will overcome. They will not be there when the day comes but we will be there

 

Emmanuel Ukudolo l Thursday, March 02, 2023

 

ABUJA, Nigeria – “We won the election and we will explore all legal and peaceful means to reclaim out mandate and we will prove it to all Nigerians ” Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi told a large gathering of journalists and party men in Abuja.

He said he remains the greatest beneficiary of the judiciary having reclaimed his mandate three times as a governor, without compromising the judiciary. “ I believe they know the process and I will bring the proof and I am doing it for the benefit our children and the generation unborn”, he said that candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar remain his friends and father, adding, “but on this issue, I am challenging the process”.

The Labour Party candidate said as an ObIdient, he is very obedient since those who rigged the process have asked him to go to court and he has therefore decided to go to court to challenge the rascality and illegal process.

He said he cannot be put under pressure on this process. “ I am committed to go through this. No matter how long the night is the day will come. That structure of criminality will not go out overnight, the structure that put over 95 million people in poverty, the structure that put over N25 million school age children out of school. All we need to do is show commitment  and deploy all resources. We will work through the darkness until daybreak. I know that the court will do the right thing”, he assured Nigerians.

A MINUTE SILENCE FOR THE DEAD, INJURED

Peter Obi who observed a minutes silence for those who were killed during the election and dozens of those who were injured expressed gratitude to God, the youths and all Nigerians that believed and worked tirelessly for a new Nigeria and entrusted it to “Me and Datti-Ahmed”.

He also expressed gratitude to the ‘ObIdient Movement’ who believed that a new Nigeria is possible .”Datti and I are committed to that new Nigerian. I commend the commitment of Nigerians in the face of unwarranted attacks. Lady Jenifer who was stabbed and insisted on voting, making me believe that indeed a new Nigeria is possible”, Peter Obi said.

He said that the February 25 presidential and national assembly election did not meet the minimum acceptable international stand and that it will go down in history as the ‘most controversial election’.

“The good people of Nigeria have again been robbed”, he said and urged Nigerians who feel aggrieved to remain calm and conduct themselves responsibly, adding “This is not the end, but the beginning of the long road to a new Nigeria”.

He said that Datti and himself believe in a new Nigeria that is built on justice and fairness. “The process through which people come to office is very important. If you must answer Your Excellency, that process must be excellent”, he said , adding that the structure of a society retrogresses when people act rascally and deliberately  suppress the will of the people”.

He said that during campaign, he and Datti Ahmed promised that they will govern by the rule of law, and  so “We will explore all legal and peaceful process to upturn and reclaim our mandate. We won the election and we will prove it to all Nigerians”, he said.

Peter Obi who wept during the programme after relating the experience of a lady graduate who is working as an attendant somewhere because she could not get N70,000 to buy oven to bake as a trained baker, while corrupt Nigerians are able to spend N70,000 and more on a bottle of wine  said   he is inspired by the suffering of Nigerians like the young graduate  to build a better Nigerian that Nigerians will be proud off.

“I want to build a new Nigerian where people will do the right thing”, he said, adding that he had opportunity to do wrong things as board member in bank, SEC and as a governor but chose the right path because he felt public money most be invested in doing the right thing.

Falling back on the election, he asked “Is this what we used over N300 billion to do?, he queried, adding that though foreign observers said the election fell below standard, he is concerned about what Nigerians are saying and feel about the election and he urged Africans to say the truth, adding that Africa will be fixed if people learn to speak the truth all the time.

He said he has never said anything since the election that shows that he does not want peace.

“I want peace but I am challenging the process. If the process is faulty, then  it is faulty. You don’t build peace on a faulty foundation. It is about the future of our children and the generation to come. We are going to build a country of peace, justice and fairness. Process is important, that is what makes a society”, he said, urging Nigerians not to be disillusioned.

“We are dealing with people who  have made up their minds that we will not succeed but we have made up our mind that we will succeed. God is on our side because we are doing the right thing. We are committed to the process. Please go out next Saturday and vote for Labour Party and I assure you that we will overcome. They will not be there when the day comes but we will be there”, he said.

He said he rejected offer to be made a Professor by a university since he has not gone through the process, adding the process makes a society.