APC, Presidency dismiss Obi’s 2023 victory claim, predict Tinubu win in 2027

LAGOS — The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency have launched separate attacks on Peter Obi’s assertion that he won the 2023 presidential election, insisting that the Labour Party candidate lost the poll and would suffer another defeat in 2027.

Obi made the claim during an Arise News interview in which he unveiled his proposed governance agenda and criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.

Although official results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) placed Obi third behind Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar in 2023, the former Anambra governor said he remained convinced that he won.

“I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election. Those who conducted it know the records; they know why there was a glitch and what happened,” Obi said.

The APC rejected the assertion, with its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki.

“How can he say that he won the 2023 poll? How did he win it? Where is the result? He had no agents in many states of the North. Why didn’t the INEC declare him as winner? He should go and prepare for another imminent loss in 2027,” Tooki said.

The Presidency also dismissed Obi’s claim, with Special Adviser to Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, describing the former governor as being in a “political fantasy land.”

“Mr. Obi is fat on ambition but drunk on political arrogance,” Dare said.

“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.”

Dare questioned Obi’s reference to conceding or refusing to concede the 2027 election, saying only voters have the power to determine the outcome.

“Who imbued him with the power to concede or not? He lacks such power. Only the Nigerian people have the power of the votes. And in 2027, they will deliver their votes massively for President Tinubu, leaving no room for the kind of antics Obi is already front-loading.”

APC challenges Obi on N16trn subsidy savings

Obi also came down heavily on the Tinubu administration over the use of savings from fuel subsidy removal, repeatedly referring to about N16 trillion generated by the policy.

He argued that while the old subsidy system was corrupt and needed to be dismantled, Nigerians had not seen enough evidence of how the savings had improved their lives.

“It’s actually the government who said that the subsidy they removed produced N15.8 trillion. Can you look at that and show the effect of this?” Obi asked.

The APC, however, challenged him to examine the increase in federal allocations to states and other developments under Tinubu.

“He should ask state governors what they were getting as federal allocation before President Tinubu came and what they are getting now. He should check the last time we had fuel queues in Nigeria. When was the last time we had a strike? He should check if students in tertiary institutions are not receiving their NELFUND loans. Does he want the N16 trillion to be transported to his bedroom?” Tooki said.

Obi: Four years enough to transform Nigeria

Obi said he would not govern through proxies if elected, promising direct presidential accountability.

“I will be in charge and I will not run the government by proxy. I will be answerable to the people,” he said.

He also dismissed the argument that Nigeria requires more than one presidential term to achieve meaningful reform.

“I will not spend one extra day. Four years is enough to engender change and I did it as Governor of Anambra State,” Obi said.

He said the key would be setting priorities, appointing credible and competent officials and ensuring that members of government worked effectively as a team.

Criticism of fuel policy

Obi said he agreed that the former fuel subsidy regime had been compromised by corruption and criminality but argued that its removal had not been matched by productive deployment of the savings.

“The subsidy regime in Nigeria was enmeshed with corruption and criminality. I have said clearly that I will remove subsidy and fight corruption and criminality. It is only when you remove it that you will know exactly whether we have a subsidy or not. I believe that if you remove corruption, there might not be subsidy. That’s my belief,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria’s status as an oil-producing nation should allow it to moderate domestic fuel prices through regular crude supply to local refineries.

“I believe that the price of petroleum products today is high. We are an oil-producing country, which means that if we can do regular supply of crude to our local refineries, working with them competitively to refine for domestic consumption, the prices can come down.”

Obi said government subsidies should be directed towards productive sectors rather than consumption, citing Indonesia’s support for small businesses as an example.

He further pointed to healthcare, particularly cancer treatment, as an area where public funds could have made a greater impact.

“When I talk about waste, people say, ‘Ah, we have a problem now with the issue of explosion in cancer.’ People are dying of cancer. To do a cancer centre will cost you about N4 billion to N5 billion. We have less than 10 cancer centres. And to add just 25, you need to spend about N100 billion. That’s what our president used to buy a plane. A jet. And we saved N16 trillion,” Obi said.

Northern economy, agriculture get priority

Obi said his proposed economic programme would give greater attention to agriculture and poverty reduction in northern Nigeria.

“I know the problems in the northern part. I will deal with the issue of poverty the way it has not been dealt with before, and in a non-corrupt way, where they will see it. The North has an asset. Nobody in this country, none of us, none of the areas, can say they have what the North has. I will deal with that asset, and that asset is agriculture. We’ll invest in it. We’ll give the subsidy to it. We will ensure that it will take all those poor people, almajirai, back to education, support them in different areas.”

He also pledged to revive industries that had disappeared from northern commercial centres.

“We will make sure we invest in health, in skills, and support them. I’ll make sure that I bring back all those manufacturing activities that have been lost. Today, if you go to Kano, there are factories that are gone. I will deal with the North in such a way that they will see it. And this fuel you’re talking about, we will moderate the price all over Nigeria. It’s not only affecting them.”

Obi described the Tinubu administration’s performance as disappointing.

“I think you should ask the people. But if you ask me, they’ve not done well. They’ve been a bit reckless in what they’re doing,” he said.

He also questioned whether Tinubu was fully in control of the government.

“At times, I believe he’s not in charge. Because if he’s in charge, he will even be explaining to the people. That’s what I’m talking about, which is capacity. I will be in charge. Nobody will talk for Peter. Because I’m the one that’s elected. I’ll be answerable to the people. And for every penny, I’ll be answerable to the people.”

Infrastructure and security

Obi said his government would concentrate on rehabilitating existing infrastructure before embarking on new construction.

“We will not build new roads until we fix the existing ones,” he said.

On insecurity, he rejected ransom payments to kidnappers and bandits, promising stronger intelligence gathering, improved welfare for security personnel and more decisive military action against criminal groups.

Obi explains Atiku alliance position

Obi also addressed speculation about a possible alliance with Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 election.

He said the issue should be handled by the political parties rather than treated as a personal arrangement between him and Atiku.

“I’m a candidate, yes. So, my leader, Atiku, is candidate of another party. I am a candidate for another party. So, you are talking about two parties coming together; it is no longer him or me,” Obi said.

He added: “All those parties have candidates. So, it is a discussion. It is no longer me, as Peter is talking. It is like a situation where two corporations are trying to come together. It is no longer something the two CEOs go to a drink and say we are going to work together. They need to look at how to bring these two corporations together.”

Obi also denied that he had rejected an offer to become Atiku’s running mate.

“I don’t know where that was said. I wasn’t even in a position where that was being offered, and I refused,” he said.

The two politicians were running mates in the 2019 election but contested separately in 2023, with Obi running under the LP and Atiku under the PDP.

Obi pledges to accept credible 2027 result

While insisting that he won the 2023 election, Obi said he would accept defeat in 2027 if the electoral process was free and credible.

“I will concede defeat if the process is free, fair and credible,” he said.

He said his campaign organisation was developing an independent result-transmission network that would allow polling-unit results to be transmitted in real time to a citizen-led Situation Room.

Obi also highlighted his educational background, naming Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia and Kellogg among institutions he had attended.

“You can look at our qualification in terms of training. I’ve been to the best schools from all over the world, from Oxford to Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia, and Kellogg, and I’ve been everywhere, and every certificate I’m showing you is the way it is. If they find anyone wrong, I will drop from the race,” he said.

He further complained about the lack of younger presidents in Nigeria since independence.

“Since 1960, nobody born outside 1960 has been president of Nigeria. This is 66 years of independence; no other country in the world has had this happen to, and they tell youths they’re the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.

Obi backs naira floating regime

Obi said he would retain the floating exchange-rate policy of the Tinubu administration if elected president, but would seek to strengthen the naira through increased productivity.

“Yes. One. It’s floating of the naira. I’m not going to defend it, but I’m going to put productivity to work to make it more valuable to the people,” he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the “willing buyer, willing seller” model on June 14, 2023, in a major reform designed to unify the country’s multiple foreign-exchange market segments.

Following the reform, the naira weakened from N460 per dollar at the end of December 2022 to N770.88 per dollar at the Investors’ and Exporters’ window by the end of June 2023, according to CBN data.

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