The Labour Party (LP) Candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has dismissed a purported audio recording of a telephone conversation between him and the Founder of Living Faith Ministries, Bishop David Oyedepo.
He described the fake audio as a product of the endless propaganda being deployed by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against him.
Obi’s response was contained in a statement by Head, Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade on Sunday, April 2, 2023.
The former Governor of Anambra state said that APC’s desperate bid to grab and retain power is pushing it to spread falsehoods, but that will not stop him from reclaiming the ‘stolen’ mandate through legal means.
The audio recording captured an alleged conversation between him and Oyedepo in which he was purported to have asked the cleric to mobilize support for him ahead of the February 25 presidential election.
The statement said; “It appears the All Progressives Congress’ desperation to grab and retain power by foul means has refused to go away more than a month after they have grabbed the election as they planned.
“While we are toeing the constitutional path to retrieve our mandate, those who have truncated the wishes of the majority of Nigerians have recoursed to mischief and endless subterfuge to continue to hold on to what they know does not belong to them.
“From the show of shame in Portharcourt to the drama in the Ibom Air aircraft, both of which they contrived, they have now moved to the circulation of a deep fake audio file aimed at promoting religious tension in the country.
“All these are meant to serve no other purpose than egregious mischief aimed at demarketing Peter Obi. If the goal is to create a credibility problem, the ploy has failed woefully.
“Peter Obi has long been on record as the only presidential candidate who has urged the Nigerians electorate not to vote for him on the basis of religion or tribe.
“We will therefore like to advice our beloved Nigerian people to remain focused on the task to take back the mandate we know was freely given to Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed through legitimate means.
“That is more important than to expect those who ran election on forged credentials and even fake Bishops to stop faking. They cannot stop being fraudulent because that is who they are.”