The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has criticised the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed over allegations of inciting a post-election insurrection.
At a press conference in Washington DC, Mohammed warned Obi to desist from stoking violence, following the 25th February presidential election which saw the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.
“Obi and his vice, Datti Ahmed cannot be threatening Nigerians that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sworn in on 29th May, 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”, Mohammed said.
Obi however took to Twitter on Tuesday to denounce the allegations amid tensions over a purported plot to install an interim government.
He tweeted: “In the past few days, I have observed various campaigns of calumny directed at my person, with the latest being allegations attributed to the information Minister, Lai Mohammed from Washington DC.
“It is most unfortunate that these consistent efforts to portray me quite contrary to what I am, and my core values, is coming from such high quarters. Minister Lai accusing me of stoking insurrection is totally malicious and fictitious.
“I have never discussed or encouraged anyone to undermine the Nigerian state; I have never sponsored or preached any action against the Nigerian state.
“In the past few days, I have observed various campaigns of calumny directed at my person, with the latest being allegations attributed to the information Minister, Lai Mohammed from Washington DC”.
According to Obi, those initiating the actions have increasingly used their official positions and agents to make false allegations against me.
“I am on record as always, advocating for peace and issue-based campaign and never campaigned based on ethnicity or religion. I am committed to due process, and presently seeking redress in the Court”, he said.
The former Anambra State governor urged those whom he described as engaged in “this demarketing process” to stop presenting Nigeria in “such bad light”.
He argued that future generations deserve a new Nigeria, where they can live a secure and decent life like their counterparts in other climes.
The party has however accused Mohammed of misinforming the international community on the true political development in Nigeria.
Its National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure berated the minister, saying that there is no basis for his admonition.
He said Obi has sued for calm even when his supporters had been calling for a nationwide protest.
“Our presidential candidate is a peaceful and law-abiding person. Despite the fact that the election was provocatively rigged, he decided to be peaceful and toe the part of justice. This in spite of all pressures from our supporters to move into the street to protest the outcome of the general election and to reclaim the mandate freely given to our candidate by the people, he has decided to calm the nerves in other to give the judicial process a chance.
“The presidential candidate of the Labour Party is the only candidate whose campaign was issues based. In spite of all provocation, it was the Labour party and its candidate that were attacked in Lagos, in Port Harcourt and all other states in the federation. But we have continued to promote peace”, Abure said.
He said the minister acted in bad fate by admonishing Obi, and should desist from such utterances.
He said: “It is our considered opinion that it is even the APC through their spokespersons and all others who have been engaged in provocative utterances in other to cause chaos that should be admonished. The admonition is largely for APC themselves, their spokespersons and their officials”.
