NIGERIA- The Federal Government of Nigeria on Tuesday claimed that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, are on the verge of being prosecuted for treason over some of their statements on the February 25 presidential election.
According to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who gave the warning in Washington, United States on Tuesday, said Obi and Baba-Ahmed’s statements amounted to insurrection.
Lai added that Obi and his running mate were inciting people to violence over the outcome of the poll.
Meanwhile, the LP candidate and the Peoples Democratic Party refuted the allegations, describing them as reckless.
The PDP and the LP warned the FG against toying with the idea of arresting the ex-governor of Anambra State.
Since the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was declared as the president-elect, having polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Obi, who got 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively, the LP candidate and his running mate have been faulting the electoral process.
Despite filing petitions challenging the election result at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Obi and Baba-Ahmed have insisted on the cancellation of the poll which they claimed was characterized by rigging and violence.
In a recent interview on national television, Baba-Ahmed asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria not to swear in the President-elect on May 29 while some of their supporters had called for the interim national government.
But addressing some media organizations and think tanks on the election at the US capital, the minister said it was wrong for Obi to seek redress in court over the outcome of the polls and in another breath incite people to violence.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Mohammed stated, “Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, of the All Progressives Congress 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 in challenging the election result, there was no pathway to victory for either Obi or Atiku.
According to the minister, both Obi and Atiku failed to meet the constitutional requirements to be declared as president.
