The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has said his respect for the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, remains, but that his challenge of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration announcing Tinubu as President-Elect is about Nigeria that is greater than all.
Obi said this while answering questions on an Arise Television Morning Breakfast Show, on Monday.
According to him, his decision to challenge the electoral process was born out of a desire to end rascality in the electoral system and replace it with a system where the right things are done for the greater good.
He said, “The APC Presidential candidate is an elder brother, I can even call him father. I have all the respect for him. I’ve not been opportune to speak with him. I didn’t have any issues with him, I respect him and will continue to do so.
“ I’m only challenging the process in which he was declared winner because the process is wrong, it must be corrected. I believe things must be done rightly.
“We must follow the rule of law of a soceity where things are done in a decent and organised manner essentially, we are trying to build this new nation that is exemplary and the world will take us serious and respect us.”
In response to a question on the seeming ethnic strife being built up expecially in Lagos ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, Obi said those who were scared of the new order were resorting to the use of imaginary fault lines to gain undue advantage.
He said, “ What you see as ethnic strife (in Lagos) are people trying to hide what does not exist to cause confusion.
“There is no such thing. The votes I got in Lagos cuts across everybody in Lagos. Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw all the tribes in Lagos voted for me. I know people who are purely Yoruba supporting me. In 2003 Obasanjo got over 90 percent of votes in the South East despite the fact that our revered leader, Ojukwu contested. He (Obasanjo) failed in Yoruba land no body quarreled to say we are not going to do business with Yoruba people.
“In 2011, we voted for Jonathan. He got more votes in the South East than he got in the south south. When MKO Abiola contested, he got more votes from the South East than Tofa who had had a respected Igbo man as running mate even when Abisola’s running mate, Kingibe was from the North. “
Obi explained that it was out of place for his opponents to reduce the Obidient phenomenon to a narrow ethnic identify issue.
He wondered how many Igbo men and women were resident in Lagos, Nassarawa, Plateau and all over Nigeria to produce the kind of numbers he received from Nigerians who were desirous of a country where things work for all.
The LP presidential candidate said it was time Nigeria which nations of the world were looking up to change for the better because today in Britain, the Mayor of London is Pakistani and the Prime Minister of Indian decent.
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