Vice Presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said he and the flagbearer, Mr. Peter Obi, would never accept Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as winner of the February 25, 2023 election as pronounced by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Peter Obi is quiet and this right there is killing APC. They don’t know what Obi is thinking hence you have been seeing tweets from them saying “Make the call and congratulate Asiwaju”.
“Peter Obi will never do that. Like I said, fasten your seat belt, it’s going to be a long ride,” Datti stated in a post on Twitter, yesterday.
he also addressed the media in Abuja where he alleged that theAPC used irregularities and constitutional violations to win the elections.
He insisted that the elections did not meet the requirements for a free and fair election and reaffirmed LP’s commitment to act in accordance with the law to pursue justice. He urged the judiciary to demonstrate its independence when the case is brought before a court.
He added that he and his principal would not be persuaded by any amount of pressure to preach against calm and peace and urged Nigerians to cast their votes en masse for the LP in the oncoming gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections.
“It is our position that the purported result didn’t not meet the minimum criteria of a transparent, free and fair election in addition to the most condemnable attacks, voters intimidation and suppression.
“Please be assured of our determination to fight the injustice that has been perpetuated on Nigerians through all legal and peaceful means. We employ you all to please remain peaceful and calm as our fight and determination for a new Nigeria is just beginning. We equally encourage you all to continue with the campaigns and vote massively for Labour Party in the forthcoming governorship and states House of Assembly elections on 11 March. Our Principal, Mr Peter Obi, will in due course speak to you and indeed the nation.
“No amount of questioning will ever get Peter Obi or myself or any agent of the Labour Party to preach anything besides peace and tranquillity in Nigeria.
“We also ask Nigerians to continue to exercise their civic duties in the upcoming elections. I have said that democracy belongs to the people who can practice it. The only language we know is peace. If Nigerians are going to achieve peace through peaceful protests, so be it.
“We believe more and more in Nigeria and the Nigerian people. Here we are, less than eight months old and we won election in a country where there is an eight-year concurrent government. As far as we are concerned, we won this election. They refused to upload results. They refused to refer to IREV just for them to defeat us. It took a serving government illegality and constitutional breach to defeat Peter Obi and my humble self. Nigerian people are winners.
Datti responded to remarks made on Tuesday by Senate President Ahmad Lawan that the Electoral Act 2022 did not provide for electronic transmission of election results as being demanded by a some Nigerians, saying, “the Senate president as far as we are concerned, contested for Presidency and now he is elected Senator by the verdict of the Supreme Court. You cannot contest two elections. It is on record he contested presidency. Now he seats as Senate president to give us this kind of opinion. Such an irresponsible person must never be listened to.”
