The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has issued a warning to Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 presidential election, and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, not to incite violence among Nigerians over the outcome of the polls. The warning was given during Mohammed’s visit to Washington DC, where he is meeting with international media organizations and think-tanks to discuss the just concluded 2023 general elections.
Mohammed criticized Obi for seeking redress in court while also inciting people to violence. He stated that it was wrong for Obi to threaten Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is sworn in on May 29, it would be the end of democracy in Nigeria. Mohammed called this treason and an invitation to insurrection. He also said that Obi’s statement showed that he was not a true democrat.
Mohammed further explained that neither Obi nor Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had met the constitutional requirements to be declared as president. Only the President-elect had met the criteria by scoring 8.79 million votes and having one-quarter of all the vote cast in 29 states of the federation.
Mohammed stated that he was in the U.S. to correct the negative narratives being promoted by the opposition on the election. He emphasized that the just concluded general elections in Nigeria were the fairest, most transparent, and authentic in the history of Nigeria due to the introduction of the Bimodal Voters Verification System (BVAS).