A founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Tanko Yakasai said Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP needs to endure and more time to learn about the electoral process of Nigeria.
Yakasai stated this while speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Thursday.
The elder statesman pleaded with Obi to be patient enough, saying he would be successful politician only if he could endure.
He said, “Anybody that is contesting or starting something for the first time is in learning process. Peter Obi is new to the world. He has lot of time to learn. Peter Obi needs to be patient and endure. He needs lot of time to learn about the process.”
Recall that Obi had earlier today (Thursday) addressed a press conference in Abuja, stating that declaration of a winner in the just-concluded presidential election was not the end.
It was the first time Obi will speak to the public or address a press conference after losing the 2023 presidential election.
Obi said, “We will explore all the legal and peaceful means to reclaim our mandate. We won the election. Datti and I are committed to the mandate of Nigerians.”
The Labour Party candidate vowed to challenge the process of the Saturday, February 25 presidential election in the court.
When asked to present evidences on how the election was manipulated, Obi simply said he doesn’t want to answer questions on his way to the court.
Recall that the Labour Party had earlier faulted the process of collating the result of last Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying it will challenge the outcome in court.
LP alleged that most of its members were deliberately disenfranchised through varied means across the country, but were more discerning in its strongholds.
The party in a statement on Sunday issued by the National of Secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim said while the party made inroads with high votes in most parts of Northern Nigeria, LP members were deliberately prevented from voting, chased away violently from polling units, or had ballot papers and boxes destroyed and burnt in others.
He cited Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe and Edo states among places where such acts were rampantly perpetrated in violation of the electoral act 2022 as amended.
Umar said in some places, INEC staff and electoral materials were not deployed to areas that are known to be strongholds of Labour Party, or deployed late to frustrate the party supporters who, psychologically got tired of waiting and had to leave the polling units for the fear of the unknown.