The Federal Government has cautioned the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi against inciting people to violence over the outcome of the February 25 presidential elections.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who gave the warning in Washington DC during his official engagements with international media organizations, described it as “treason.”
During a recent interview with Channels TV, Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, urged President Muhummadu Buhari and the Chief Justice of Nigeria not to participate in the swearing-in of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu on May 29.
Obi in responding to the accusations of “treason” by the Minister of Information and culture, Lai Mohammed described it as “totally malicious and fictitious.”
News Agency of Nigeria reports that Mohammed in his foreign trip talked with such media outlets as Washington Post, Voice of America, Associated Press and Foreign Policy Magazine.
During one of the interactions, the minister said it was wrong for Obi to seek redress in court over the outcome of the polls and, in another breadth, incite people to violence.
“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,” Mohammed said.
In a series of tweet via his official twitter handle on Tuesday, Mr Obi noted that ‘‘In the past few days, I have observed various campaigns of calumny directed at my person, with the latest being allegations attributed to the information Minister, Lai Mohammed from Washington DC.’’
According to him, ‘‘It is most unfortunate that these consistent efforts to portray me quite contrary to what I am, and my core values, is coming from such high quarters. Minister Lai accusing me of stoking insurrection is totally malicious and fictitious.’’
He explained that ‘‘I have never discussed or encouraged anyone to undermine the Nigerian state; I have never sponsored or preached any action against the Nigerian state. Those initiating these actions have increasingly used their official positions and agents to make false allegations against me.’’
The former Anambra State Governor pointed out ‘‘I am on record as always, advocating for peace and issue-based campaign and never campaigned based on ethnicity or religion. I am committed to due process, and presently seeking redress in the Court.
‘‘I urge those engaged in this demarketing process to stop presenting Nigeria in such bad light. Our future generations deserve a new Nigeria, where they can live a secure and decent life like their counterparts in other climes. It is possible,” he pleaded.
