The Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian presidency has accused former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi of “hallucinating” and living in a “political fantasy land” over his continued claim that he won the 2023 presidential election.
The presidency said Obi’s position was untenable after the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment on the disputed election, which upheld President Bola Tinubu’s victory.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, made the remarks while reacting to comments by Obi, who is now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.
Dare said Obi was driven by political ambition and arrogance in continuing to challenge the outcome of the 2023 election.
“Mr. Peter Obi is fat on ambition but drunk on political arrogance,” Dare said.
The Presidency further accused the former Anambra State governor of refusing to accept the outcome of the election and described his position as a form of political fantasy.
“Peter Obi wallows freely in a political fantasy land. To still insist he won the presidential election after the country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, delivered a final judgment is clear hallucination,” the Presidency said.
It also questioned Obi’s suggestion that he could concede or refuse to concede an election victory, arguing that the authority to determine the winner rests with voters.
“Who imbued him with the power to concede or not? He lacks such power. Only the Nigerian people have the power of the votes,” the Presidency said.
According to the Presidency, the Nigerian electorate would have another opportunity to decide the country’s leadership in 2027 and would vote massively for Tinubu.
“And in 2027, they will deliver their votes massively for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, leaving no room for the kind of antics Peter Obi is already front-loading,” it added.
Obi’s comments followed an interview with Arise TV in which he criticised the conduct of the 2023 presidential election and raised concerns about the credibility of the electoral process ahead of the 2027 election.
The former Anambra governor alleged that the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, worked against him during the 2023 election despite publicly assuring Nigerians and the international community that the commission was prepared to conduct a credible poll.
Obi said Nigerians had relied on the assurances given by INEC ahead of the 2023 election but would not make the same mistake in the next election.
“In 2023 we took things for granted, we believed the INEC, we believed that what they were saying they would do because the chairman then was travelling all over the world, telling the world that he and his team were prepared to do the right thing, when he was actually working for the opposite,” Obi said.
He said the experience had changed his approach to the 2027 election, arguing that Nigerians must play a more active role in ensuring that the electoral process works as expected.
“This time we will only trust them by doing the right thing by ourselves,” Obi said.
When asked during the interview whether he had evidence to support his allegation against Yakubu, Obi responded, “Yes, of course.”
The 2023 presidential election was won by Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), according to the results declared by INEC. Obi finished third behind Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Obi and Atiku challenged the election result in court, alleging irregularities and violations in the conduct of the poll. However, the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the appeals challenging Tinubu’s victory.
The latest exchange between Obi and the Presidency comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Obi emerging as the NDC candidate and Tinubu expected to seek another term in office.
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