The candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 presidential election, Peter Obi, has declared leaked tape of a purported discussion between him and the head of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, is phoney.
The recording featured Obi telling Oyedepo that the presidential race was a holy battle and that the cleric should assist him to urge people in the South-West and Kwara State, particularly Christians, to back his quest.
Responding, Obi, in a statement he signed on Wednesday, claimed at no stage in his “issue-based campaign” did he ever refer to the election as a religious war.
He further criticized purported efforts by the governing All Progressives Congress to deflect “attention from our stolen mandate.”
He stated, “These have arrived and continued to materialize in many forms, such as the false accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the spread of a bogus doctored audio call, and pressure on me to leave the country.
“Let me clarify that the taped call being distributed is phoney, and at no point during the campaign and now did I ever state, think, or even hint that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.”
The former governor of Anambra State said his legal team had been directed to pursue proper legal proceedings against the internet media site that released the leaked tape.
“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the international community to implore the APC and the APC-led government to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our nation, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty, especially in the north, and jump-start prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged,” Obi added.
