The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, says media reports quoting him as preparing for the 2027 presidential election are “fake”.
Obi said this in a statement he personally signed and issued on Saturday.
Obi vied for the 2023 presidency under the platform of the Labour Party (LP).
Figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that he placed third, behind second-placed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and winner, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tinubu has since been sworn into office.
However, Obi is challenging Tinubu’s victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).
The LP candidate is seeking the court’s declaration that Tinubu did not win the election.
In Saturday’s statement, the former Anambra governor stated that there is an emerging pattern of fake news based on interviews and press remarks that he never granted.
One of such, he said, quoted a non-existent interview with Arise TV in which he supposedly said he was looking forward to running for office in 2027.
“I have noticed with dismay, an emerging pattern where fake media reports and news items are predicated on interviews and press remarks I never granted. Two recent instances relate to my saying that I am looking forward to running for office in 2027 on a supposed Arise TV interview that never took place. The other is about my reaction to prospective appointees into the Federal Government. Both reports are bogus. Regrettably, our politics have sunken to this abysmal level where manipulation of the media space is now a trade.
“For me, I shall continue to speak on topical national issues via recognized news and media outfits. But I certainly will not concern myself with cheap distractive trolls. My focus and that of the Obidient Movement will not derail from the original mission of creating a new
“Nigeria which we believe is POssible. Our emphasis has never been on political positions or personal aggrandizement, but on putting the nation on the right footing and deepening our democracy by helping to elevate and empower the downtrodden in our society.
“That was why our messages during the electioneering campaigns were all issue-driven,” Obi said.