Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has acknowledged that he has no evidence to substantiate his claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, but maintained that he remains convinced he was the actual winner.
Obi made the statement during a recent BBC Africa interview while responding to questions about his longstanding claim that the election was rigged.
Asked directly whether he had evidence to prove that he won the election, Obi replied: “There’s no evidence. Everything is not based on evidence.”
He nevertheless maintained his position, adding: “I won the election and that’s where I will end.”
The former Anambra State governor was also questioned about his continued assertion that the 2023 election was rigged despite the outcome of the legal challenges mounted against the result.
“I don’t like going back to the past. I sustain what I said,” Obi said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the 2023 presidential election, with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party in second place and Obi finishing third.
Obi and Atiku challenged the result before the Presidential Election Petition Court, but their petitions were dismissed. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld Tinubu’s victory.
During the interview, Obi also addressed questions about his position on the removal of fuel subsidy, rejecting suggestions that his stance had changed.
“I’ve not changed. What has changed is that whenever I talk about methodology, people say, oh, it has changed,” he said.
Obi said his position had consistently included concerns about corruption within the subsidy regime.
“I talked about the corruption. The corruption is the problem of the subsidy,” he said.
On how he would tackle corruption if elected president, Obi said he would personally lead the fight, arguing that leadership by example would significantly reduce corruption.
“If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, your wife and family are not involved, you reduce it by 50 percent,” he said.
Asked about corruption during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Obi said he would take a different approach by personally taking charge of the anti-corruption effort.
“He wasn’t in charge. The difference is this. I would be in charge,” he said.
Obi was also asked whether he would withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest if opposition parties agreed to support another candidate.
He rejected the suggestion, arguing that the opposition should instead concentrate on mobilising more voters.
“We don’t need to step down. We need to do the right thing,” Obi said.