Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 poll Peter Obi has labelled as fake the leaked phone conversation between him and clergyman Bishop David Oyedepo.
During the conversation, Obi allegedly told Oyedepo that the presidential election was a religious war. He also allegedly begged the cleric to help him canvass support among Christians in the south-west and Kwara State.
While one of his campaign spokespersons Kenneth Okonkwo confirmed the audio, Obi said in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday that he never had such a conversation with Oyedepo.
He said, “These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and pressure on me to leave the country.
“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake, and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.”
The former governor of Anambra State said his legal team had been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against the online media platform that published the leaked audio.
“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the international community to implore the APC and the APC-led government to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our nation, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty, especially in the north, and jumpstart prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged.
“Elections are over, and we are in court to retrieve our stolen mandate. Let me reiterate that we are doing so through all lawful and peaceful options in line with our legal system and constitution, and I continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law-abiding,” he said.
