The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has called for calm in what will be his first public comment after the presidential election held on February 25th, 2023.
Obi, who was accosted by a Nigerian youth on Tuesday at the Asaba Airport en route to Abuja, assured his supporters that the party is working to ensure that the right thing is done.
In a short video clip posted on Twitter by the supporter who was excited to come across Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate said all he was after is good governance for the benefit of the people.
Be calm and persistent: Asked to react to the results being announced and the performance of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of the elections, Obi said:
- “We are trying to remove a situation that has been there for years, at the end of the day, what we need to do is to remain calm and persistent in saying this is wrong. We will remain calm, we will remain persistent, and consistent, that is the only way we can succeed.
- “This is for the good of the people, all we are saying is let there be good governance; let the government care for the people,” Obi added as he walked to board his flight.
What you should know: Amid the alleged irregularities in the collation of results and the slow pace of results upload to the INEC’s results viewing portal, 2 of the 3 major contenders, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party are yet to make any official pronouncement. However, their parties have been expressing concerns over the electoral process.
- On Monday, the agents of major opposition parties at the National Collation Centre in Abuja walked out of the venue in protest at the exercise.
- Dino Melaye and Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP accused INEC of violating the Electoral Act by going ahead with the result collation and announcement despite not uploading the results on the iREV portal.
- Agents of some other parties, including those of the SDP, LP, and ADP had expressed similar views.
A friend ran into Peter Obi this morning as they shared Asaba-Abuja flight. He bared his mind to the LP’s candidate about the elections and told Mr. Peter that many await his official statement. Peter Obi sued for peace & calm & assured that things are being properly followed up. pic.twitter.com/4nZ0xlxjLa
— Goodluck C. Okechukwu (@goodemilia) February 28, 2023