Kenneth Okonkwo of the Labour Party, LP, has maintained that those who ascribe Peter Obi’s performance in the just concluded presidential election to religion or ethnicity are being “ignorant and mischievous.”
Okonkwo, a veteran Nollywood actor, insisted that no politician in the country’s history under a relatively unknown political party achieved the spread and votes that Obi got.
His statement, contained in a post via his Twitter handle on Tuesday, is coming against the backdrop of a leaked audio conversation between his principal and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church.
The audio conversation alleged Obi described the election as a “religious war” and solicited help from Oyedepo to talk to his people.
However, Okonkwo said that some people were “trumping up useless and baseless allegations to taint Obi’s records”.
The Nollywood star also said that evidence showed all tribes and religions voted for Obi at the February 25 election.
He wrote, “Anybody who ascribes ethnic or religious implication to Obi’s phenomenal success in the 2023 presidential election is ignorant and mischievous. There’s no Politician in Nigeria’s history that contested the presidential election in Nigeria for the first time under a relatively unknown political party against two established two major political parties that achieved the spread and votes that Obi achieved. His performance in the FCT and Lagos, which have the most cosmopolitan nature in Nigeria, shows that Hausas, Yoruba, Igbo, all tribes, Muslims, Christians and every religion voted for him.
“Seeing his powerful petition to reclaim his mandate, stolen through open robbery by INEC and the failed APC ruling party, they are trumping up useless and baseless allegations to taint his records. A party that brought out a sick old drug baron and religious bigot who chose same faith ticket in a multi-religious Nigeria should be too ashamed to even speak in the public space. But this is the low they’ve brought Nigeria to and they will soon be cleaned out from the leadership cadre in Nigeria, by God’s grace.”
