The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has reacted to the denial of a statement credited to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, regarding the 2023 election.
Recall that the LP flagbearer was quoted in a leaked audio conversation between him and the founder of Winners Chapel, David Oyedepo, as saying that the presidential election was a “religious war.”
In the leaked conversation, Obi also urged the cleric to encourage Christians in the South-West and Kwara State to vote for him in the 2023 presidential election.
In the wake of the release of the audio clip, the LP flagbearer said the conversation was doctored, adding that at no time did he imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war”.
Speaking on the issue again in an interview on Arise Television programme on Monday, Obi admitted that he called the cleric to solicit votes, but never described the 2023 presidential election as a “religious war”.
The former Governor of Anambra State stressed that he is not an ethnic or a religious bigot.
He said: “Call it whatever you want to call it. Whatever anyone wants to make of it. I am not a religious bigot. Do you think I can just pick a phone and say ‘religious war’? No, I was even begging the bishop to help me ask his people to vote, which was what I was doing for six months — begging.
“I wasn’t saying ‘catch him’, ‘kill him’, ‘force it’. I was even begging. That shows that I continued to look for votes by begging. There were so many things we tried to do but they were not okay.
“Let me tell you; those who have been trying to manipulate Nigerians have been doing it. But it is coming to an end. The people they have been manipulating are dying of hunger.
“They will soon know who is the religious or tribal bigot. I am not one. I have just given you an example of how I built mosques. Till today, no non-Muslim governor has sent more people to Mecca than me.
“I can never say it (election) is a religious war. Because it is not. There was a conversation. But I never said it was a religious war. What for? I am surrounded by people.”
Reacting to the development in a tweet via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday, Keyamo described Obi as a liar.
He wrote: “Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!!”
, Peter Obi, regarding the 2023 election.){kind=link}