Leaked Audio: Obi blasts FG, says ‘You should be ashamed of your failures, barefaced lies’
The Federal Government and the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, were yesterday at daggers-drawn over the latter’s alleged audio conversation with the founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo.
In the controversial leaked audio of the conversation on the eve of the presidential poll on February 25, Obi allegedly begged Oyedepo to mobilise Christians in Kwara and South-West states to vote for him because the election was a religious.
The Federal Government has challenged Obi, to clarify his position on the leaked audio of the conversation he allegedly had with Oyedepo.
Addressing the media in London Monday, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Obi should clarify what he meant by saying the leaked conversation was “a fake, doctored audio call.”
Responding to the challenge, the Presidential Campaign Council of the Labour Party, yesterday expressed disappointment at the Federal Government which it said failed in its primary duty of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians, even while making the bashing of Obi a top priority.
It said the Federal Government should be ashamed of its failures and barefaced lies.
The chief spokesman of the LP PCC, Dr Yunusa Tanko, in a telephone interview with this paper in Abuja, expressed disappointment at the Federal Government, which had not only failed in its primary duty of protecting the lives and properties of Nigerians, but had pushed the bashing of LP’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, to the front burner.
He said: “We are disappointed but not surprised that the Federal Government which has failed in its primary responsibility of securing the lives and property of Nigerians across this country has made Obi-bashing a top priority.
“As for Mr Lai Mohammed, it is unfortunate that a Ministers, who has all the time to use his office to pressure the National Communications Commission (NCC), to slam a N5 million fine on Channels Television for performing its constitutional role is now asking our candidate to play a script written by the All Progressives Congress (APC), to divert attention from the ongoing challenge to our stolen mandate.
“One may ask at this point: Is he also part of the plot to justify the unjustifiable electoral fraud? How come the minister is now using taxpayers’ funds to globe-trot to lie to the international community about the sham of an election?
“He should be ashamed of himself that he has been put in a position to play the role of an advocate for INEC.
“INEC claimed there was a glitch while it attempted to upload the results of the presidential election but typical of Mr. Lai Mohammed, he is going around telling the world that INEC deliberately refused to upload the results on its IREV portal.
“The Minister owes himself and Nigerians a duty to find and expose the source of the so-called leaked audio which was doctored to suit a narrative capable of creating chaos in the polity.”
Speaking on the issue penultimate Sunday, Bishop Oyedepo said he never campaigned for any politician or spoke on their behalf in the build-up to the 2023 polls.
Speaking to his congregation at the headquarters of Faith Tabernacle, Ota, Ogun State, in reaction to the alleged leaked audio between him and Obi, on the eve of the presidential poll, Oyedepo said he never spoke to any group of people on behalf of any politician.
“I have never campaigned for anybody or spoken on anybody’s behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven.
‘’There is no party in this country that didn’t come to me for prayers and advice. I advised them, some, they didn’t take. Those who chose to take it saw results; those who said ‘no’ are still going about it. If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesn’t change,” he said.
(Vanguard)
