The Presidency and the All-Progressives Congress (APC) have strongly rejected Peter Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, setting the stage for another fierce political battle ahead of the 2027 general election.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), maintained during a recent interview that he won the 2023 presidential poll and would continue to stand by that position.
The former Anambra State governor also said he would only concede defeat in the 2027 presidential election if the process was free, fair and credible.
His comments have triggered sharp reactions from the ruling party and the Presidency, with the APC insisting that Obi should prepare for another defeat.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, accused Obi of allowing political ambition to overshadow reality.
Dare argued that the Supreme Court had already delivered a final judgment on the 2023 presidential election, dismissing any suggestion that the result remained undecided.
According to him, Obi’s continued insistence that he won the election amounted to political fantasy.
The Presidency also questioned Obi’s suggestion that he had the authority to decide whether or not to concede the 2027 election.
Dare said the power to determine the winner ultimately rests with Nigerian voters through their ballots.
He added that the Presidency expects voters to support Tinubu in 2027 and reject what he described as political tactics being deployed ahead of the election.
The APC also dismissed Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election.
The party’s National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, challenged Obi to explain how he could have won the election when the official results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) placed him third.
Tooki questioned Obi’s performance in northern states and asked why INEC did not declare him the winner if he had actually secured victory.
The APC spokesman subsequently told Obi to prepare for what he described as another imminent defeat in 2027.
Despite the criticism, Obi remains firm in his position on the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, the former Anambra governor said he would continue to maintain that he won the election.
“I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election,” Obi said, adding that those who conducted the election knew the records and understood what happened.
According to the official results announced by INEC, Bola Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election, followed by Atiku Abubakar, while Obi finished third.
Obi questions Tinubu’s use of fuel subsidy savings
Beyond the election dispute, Obi used the interview to launch a broad criticism of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.
He questioned how the government had deployed the savings generated following the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Obi referred to government figures indicating that subsidy removal had generated about N15.8 trillion, which he rounded to approximately N16 trillion.
While acknowledging that the former subsidy system was plagued by corruption and abuse, he argued that removing the subsidy should have been accompanied by productive investments capable of improving Nigerians’ living conditions.
He also criticised the government’s borrowing pattern, arguing that Nigerians had yet to see sufficient benefits from the savings.
Obi said he would not return Nigeria to what he described as the corrupt subsidy regime of the past if elected president.
Instead, he proposed directing government support towards productive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, small businesses and other areas capable of creating jobs and wealth.
He cited Indonesia as an example of a country where government support is directed towards productive economic activity.
According to Obi, Nigeria should use targeted subsidies to stimulate production rather than subsidise consumption.
He said such an approach could help reduce poverty, create employment and improve economic opportunities.
The NDC presidential candidate also outlined plans to tackle poverty and insecurity in northern Nigeria through agricultural investment, skills development, education and industrial revival.
He described agriculture as one of the North’s major economic assets and promised to invest heavily in the sector.
Obi also pledged to revive manufacturing activities in northern commercial centres, including Kano, where he said several factories had closed down.
He argued that rebuilding productive economic activity would help tackle unemployment and some of the conditions contributing to insecurity.
The former Anambra governor also rejected the argument that four years would not be enough to transform Nigeria.
Obi promised that if elected president, he would not seek an additional day beyond his first term.
He said the critical ingredients for achieving meaningful change were clear priorities, competent appointments, teamwork and effective execution.
Obi further promised to run the government directly rather than through political intermediaries or influential individuals operating behind the scenes.
I will be in charge, and I will not run the government by proxy. I will be answerable to the people, he said.
Obi accused the Tinubu administration of reckless spending and said Nigerians should judge the government based on their experiences.
He questioned whether President Tinubu was fully in control of the day-to-day running of government.
According to Obi, a president should be directly accountable to citizens for government decisions and public expenditure.
He also proposed a different approach to infrastructure, saying his administration would prioritise the rehabilitation of existing roads and public assets before embarking on new construction projects.
We will not build new roads until we fix the existing ones, he said.
On security, Obi said his administration would take a more aggressive approach to kidnapping and banditry.
He rejected the payment of ransom to criminal groups and called for stronger intelligence capabilities, improved welfare for security personnel and decisive action against organised criminal networks.
He argued that cutting off the financial incentives behind kidnapping would be necessary to weaken the criminal economy.
The NDC candidate also disclosed plans to establish an independent election result transmission system ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
According to Obi, the system would transmit polling-unit results in real time to a citizen-led Situation Room.
He said the initiative would help reduce opportunities for manipulation and strengthen confidence in the electoral process.
Obi maintained that he would accept the outcome of the 2027 election if the process was transparent, free and credible.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has dismissed the possibility of any opposition candidate matching Tinubu in competence and political quality.
Yari made the statement while addressing members of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers in Gusau, Zamfara State.
Speaking in Hausa, the senator representing Zamfara West said opposition candidates had the constitutional right to contest but argued that none was on Tinubu’s level.
He claimed that the other contenders did not possess even 10 per cent of the qualities he attributed to the President.
Yari urged the electorate in Zamfara to support Tinubu’s bid for another term, signalling that the APC is already intensifying its campaign activities ahead of 2027.
The NDC candidate also used the interview to distinguish his proposed administration from what he described as Nigeria’s traditional style of governance.
He promised to personally take responsibility for the performance of his cabinet and government.
Obi said Nigerians would know who was responsible for decisions under his administration and that no individual would be allowed to govern on his behalf.
On speculation about a possible alliance with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of 2027, Obi said the issue should not be viewed simply as a negotiation between two individuals.
Obi and Atiku contested the 2023 election on different platforms after previously serving as running mates in the 2019 presidential election.
Obi said any potential alliance would involve the political parties themselves and would therefore require broader negotiations.
He also denied reports that he had rejected an offer to become Atiku’s running mate in the 2027 election, saying no such offer had been made to him.
In a notable assessment of the Tinubu administration, Obi said he would retain the government’s floating exchange-rate policy if elected president.
He said he would, however, focus on increasing productivity so that the policy would produce greater value for Nigerians.
The Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the “willing buyer, willing seller” foreign exchange model in June 2023 as part of efforts to unify the country’s multiple foreign exchange market segments.
Obi said his objection was not necessarily to the floating exchange-rate policy itself but to the absence of sufficient productivity and economic output to strengthen the naira.
The latest exchange between the Presidency, the APC and Obi highlights the increasingly confrontational political atmosphere ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
While Obi continues to campaign on economic restructuring, accountability, security and institutional reform, the APC and Presidency are defending Tinubu’s record and positioning the President for another term.
The dispute over the 2023 election result is also likely to remain a major issue as the political parties intensify their preparations for the next presidential contest.
