Politics

Peter Obi finally reacts to leaked phone call with Bishop Oyedepo, set to sue Peoples Gazette

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is set to sue Peoples Gazette over a leaked phone conversation between him and Living Faith Church founder Bishop David Oyedepo reported by the newspaper on April 1..

“This is a religious war,” Mr Obi said in the leaked audio to solicit the revered cleric’s assistance in getting Christians in the South-West to back his presidency bid, particularly in the central states of Kwara, Kogi, and Niger.

The story elicited a fierce and broad-ranging storm among Nigerians, with critics and supporters brawling over the politician’s resort to religion for his political advantage.

Mr Obi was largely quiet since the story was published on Saturday evening, despite widespread calls for him to clarify his views that were already expressed in the telephone call. Two of his aides sought to push back against the manner the report portrayed the former Anambra governor, who came third in the February 25 presidential election.

“Our legal team have been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against Peoples Gazette and others,” Mr Obi tweeted Wednesday evening in response to The Gazette’s story.

“Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake,” he added in the thread of tweets. “At no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.”

These have come and continued to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the Minister of Information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call, and a pressure on me to leave the country.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 5, 2023

Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake, and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 5, 2023

I continue to thank all Nigerians, especially the youths and the Obidients, as they have remained focused on the core mission of a New Nigeria that is POssible even after the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 5, 2023