Obi breaks silence on leaked ‘Yes Daddy’ audio, says it’s doctored

Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the immediate past 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has described the leaked viral audio conversation between him and the founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, as fake and doctored.

In the leaked conversation which has continued to generate reactions across the country, Obi was heard appealing to Oyedepo to encourage Christians in the South-West, and Kwara State to vote for him in the February 25 presidential election, stating that the election was a religious war.

“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara. This is a religious war,” Obi allegedly said in the audio conversation.

But the former governor of Anambra State has underlined that his campaign was issue-based and that he never referred to the election as a religious conflict in a statement he signed on Wednesday.

He claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was working hard to attack him unnecessarily in an effort to deflect attention away from the legal recovery of his stolen presidential mandate.

At the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Obi, who finished third in the presidential election, is contesting the victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC’s next president, alongside Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who finished second.

The statement reads: “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 pressure on me to leave the country.

READ ALSO: MURIC gives Obi, Oyedepo 3days to confirm or deny ‘Yes Daddy’ audio

“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.

“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the international community to implore the APC and the APC-led government to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our nation, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty, especially in the north, and jumpstart prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged.

“Elections are over, and we are in court to retrieve our stolen mandate. Let me reiterate that we are doing so through all lawful and peaceful options in line with our legal system and constitution, and I continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law-abiding.

“Those fixated on heating up the polity, creating divisions, tensions and hatred within and outside Nigeria should remember that Nigeria is our only country. Our focus should be on how to address the litany of challenges facing us, such as flawed electoral processes, the parlous state of our economy, unsustainable debt burden, lamentable unemployment and inflation, insecurity, and multi-dimensional poverty. A New Nigeria is indeed POssible, and God will help us.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now