Obi reacted to the audio and the comments made by Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who accused him of treason.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, reacted to the leaked phone conversation between him and Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide.
The audio in which Obi described the 2023 presidential election as a ‘religious war’, had been trending since it was published by an online newspaper, Peoples Gazette on Saturday.
In the leaked phone conversation, Oyedepo prayed for Obi, saying, “In Jesus’ name, we are going to get a bright tomorrow,” with Obi replying by saying, “When I hear these prayers, it is very dear to me and like I keep saying, if this thing works, you people will never regret the support.”
Continuing the conversation, Oyedepo said, “We look forward to God’s intervention,” to which Obi responded by saying, “Thank you, Daddy. I need you to speak to your people in the Southwest and Kwara. The Christians in the Southwest and Kwara.” Bishop Oyedepo said: “Okay.”
Obi continued by saying, “This is a religious war,” with Oyedepo responding immediately, “I believe you, I believe that. You know, I did a release, ‘Nigeria going forward’ and I’m coming out with the second one today.”
The spokesperson for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, confirmed that the audio is authentic.
However, the presidential candidate, who returned to Twitter on Tuesday morning after taking a break since the scandal broke, reacted to the audio and the comments made by Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who accused him of treason.
Obi posted on Twitter, “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.”
“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.
“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.”
“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," the statement added.