The Federal Government has accused Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, of inciting people to violence over the outcome of the presidential poll. In a statement made by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, during his official engagements with international media organisations in Washington DC, USA, the government stated that it was wrong for Obi to seek redress in court over the outcome of the polls and, in another breadth, incite people to violence.
The Minister of Information stated that Obi and his Vice, Datti Ahmed, cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sworn-in on May 29, it will be the end of democracy in Nigeria. Mohammed described this as an act of treason and incitement to insurrection. The statement further criticised Obi, stating that his desperation was leading him to make statements that were undemocratic. The Minister stated that a democrat should not believe in democracy only when they win the election.
“Obi and his Vice, Datti Ahmed cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sworn-in on May 29, it will be the end of democracy in Nigeria. “This is treason. You cannot be inviting insurrection, and this is what they are doing. “Obi’s statement is that of a desperate person, he is not the democrat that he claimed to be.
“A democrat should not believe in democracy only when he wins the election,” the minister said. The accusations made by the Federal Government have caused controversy across the country, with many Nigerians expressing concern over the potential consequences of such accusations. Some have stated that the government is attempting to silence opposition voices and prevent dissenting opinions from being heard.