https://gazettengr.com/exclusive-peter-obi-in-last-minute-push-for-votes-begs-bishop-oyedepo-to-help-win-2023-religious-war/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pUCbDbt3G4

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Obi, in last-minute push for votes, begs Bishop Oyedepo to help win 2023 ‘religious war’

An audio obtained by The Gazette undercut Mr Obi’s public assertions that his campaign diligently eschewed religious tendencies.

As Nigerians prepared to head to the polls and tension peaked among politicians, Peter Gregory Obi, a major presidential candidate, mustered Christian leaders to ramp up a sectarian appeal to push him over the line, Peoples Gazette heard from a leaked conversation.

Mr Obi, the Labour Party’s standard-bearer, saw the February 25, 2023, exercise as a battle to assert the place of Christians in the country, bootstrapping his candidacy out of a polarised cycle set off by Bola Tinubu’s religiously-tinged Muslim-Muslim nomination. The election was largely a three-way race between Messrs Obi, Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president who ran again on the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party line.

Mr Obi, 61, called Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel) on the eve of the election and implored him to pass messages to Christians across the South-West — and also to those in central states like Kwara, Kogi and Niger.

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

“I believe that, I believe that, I believe that,” Mr Oyedepo said.

“Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support,” Mr Obi said with candour, adding that Christians in places like Kogi, Kwara and Niger have been difficult to penetrate.

“We look forward to God’s intervention,” Mr Oyedepo said, promising to circulate more messages to Christians on Mr Obi’s behalf.

For two days, Mr Obi did not attend to The Gazette’s calls and messages to his two available telephone lines. His media aides and allies, including Akin Osuntokun, Valentine Obienyem and Mike Ifedi, all declined comments when The Gazette sent an enquiry to them with the full audio.

Mr Ifedi said he was trying to discuss the audio with Mr Obi for a measured response, but his message did not come in before a final decision was taken to run this story.


Mr Oyedepo asked The Gazette to forward an enquiry to him by WhatsApp, but he declined comments for more than a day after messages and the audio were sent to him.

‘United and Indivisble Nigeria’

While religion has always been a dominant feature of Nigerian politicos, the conversation, which lasted over four minutes, undercut Mr Obi’s public statements that his campaign was devoid of any religious undertones.

He took part in several dialogues to maintain peace and stability in the country, and was seen as a formidable path to the first Nigerian president of Igbo origin since the Civil War.

“No one should ascribe ethnic or religious colouration to the OBIdient Movement. Nigeria is one and my ambition is to become the President of a United and Indivisible Nigeria,” Mr Obi said in a statement signed by him on March 26, a month after the election, as he continued his legal push to reclaim what he described as a stolen mandate.

Mr Obi, whose aspiration spurred a historic participation of Nigerian youths in the last election, was inundated with partisan attacks about alleged ethno-religious colouration of his movement.

Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto from the Muslim-dominated northwestern flank, was among those who attacked Mr Obi’s campaign as lacking plural representation.

Mr Obi said his campaign was aimed at rescuing Nigerians from the grip of Mr Tinubu’s APC, which has ruled the country since 2015 amid widespread poverty and underdevelopment.

Religion, competence

The 2023 presidential election to replace Muhammadu Buhari was seen by analysts as the first to have three major candidates with near-equal short at victory since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

But the season did not open with the same elements. Mr Obi himself was seeking office under the PDP until it became clear to him in May 2022 that he would not be able to secure. theparty’s ticket. He then joined the Labour and was summarily given the party’s ticket.

Even then, an analyst said, Mr Obi’s candidacy was not entirely appealing to political observers, who saw Labour as too fringe and unviable for national campaign. Labour had only produced a governor in its near two-decade history prior to Mr Obi’s membership.

“No political heavyweights followed Peter Obi to Labour,” political analyst Omodele Odunfa said. “That was why many people, including myself admittedly, did not take him seriously at first.”

Mr Odunfa said it was after Mr Tinubu tapped Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate that Mr Obi’s ambition became appealing to Christians.

“Christians rightly saw Bola Tinubu’s action as a holy war against their faith and decided to rally behind a ticket they could relate with ideologically,” he added.

Atiku Abubakar

Although the PDP ticket had Mr Abubakar, a Muslim, and Ifeanyi Okowa, a Christian, some Christians still believed Mr Obi would better represent their interest as president because it would address the clamour for the southern Christian president to succeed a northern Muslim leader.

Mr Obi, a Catholic, promptly unite all Christian denominations against the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which Mr Tinubu had justified as politically expedient and administratively prudent.

“Tinubu said he picked because Shettima because of competence,” Mr Odunfa said. “But we all knew it was simply because he knew it would be his surest path to victory.”

Mr Odunfa said it was Mr Tinubu who started the 2023 election along religious lines.

“But for Bola Tinubu’s divisive move, the way Christians were fired up for Peter Obi might have been somewhat neutralised,” he added.

Following his declaration as president-elect, Mr Tinubu promised to run a government of inclusion, saying Nigerians will be treated equally as encouraged by the nation’s Constitution.

Mr Oyedepo, in his support for Mr Obi during the pre-election call, said the Labour’s candidate had better appeal than his challengers, whom he insinuated had poor health and ill-gotten wealth.

“A sickening nation like Nigeria will require a strong and healthy personality,” Mr Obi said. “Anyone whose source of wealth cannot be verified should not have access to governance, particularly in a dying economy like Nigeria.”

Mynd44
Nlfpmod

APC have come out physically to nail Peter Obi. They know that Peter Obi is the only politician in Nigeria without any sin or trace of corruption levelled against him.

This is fake audio 😎

Will we ever move on from this election ?

When Festus Keyamo said that they will face Peter Obi and Obidients with propaganda, during his appearance on Channels TV, many took it for a joke.

Well, in the last 72hrs. APC has launched 3 failed propagandas.

To the extent that they have infiltrated all media houses.

APC have come out physically to nail Peter Obi. They know that Peter Obi is the only politician in Nigeria without any sin or trace of corruption against him.

This is fake audio 😎

If true, it's a nice move for believing in his creator, God.

If it's false, let the propagandists continue their business as it last.

Fake

Lol anyone who believes this needs a thorough head examination and a course in AI

Can't this collosal perennial loser STFU?

helinues:
Can't this collosal perennial loser STFU?

Respect your President elect not the one selected by Yakubu Mahmood 😎

helinues:
Can't this collosal perennial loser STFU?

Are you normal?

Do we still have an election or are you guys this idle?

Peter Obi is a disgusting tribal and religious bigot.

Not suprised a bit. Same Peter Obi went to a church in Taraba shouting take your country back to the congregation.

He is incompetent and wants to use Tribal politics to win elections like he had always down in Anambra.

Obidients can't twist this since the people's gazette in the past few weeks has published pro-obidients news. People gazette published the supreme court justice story and Obidients gloated all over the news.

Peter Obi increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N7 billion to N8 billion in Anambra.

Nasir El-Rufai increased Kaduna State IGR from N15 billion to N52.8 billion.

Tinubu increased IGR from N14.6 billion in 1999 to N83.02 billion when Mr Tinubu left office in 2007.

Peter Obi knows how to hoodwink people well. Nigeria dodged a bullet.

Fake AI generated audio. APC is a party of criminals and propagandists. They are very desperate because they know Peter Obi is coming

Useless propaganda... Lol.

All these propaganda are useless.
PODATTI will get his mandate.

Omo, Nigeria dodged a bullet by not electing this guy as president coz he definitely would have stirred ethno-religious war that would've set this country on fire. Peter Obi is undoubtedly a religious bigot.

See this foolish Igbo trying to downplay what they can not

kettykin:
Lol anyone who believes this needs a thorough head examination and a course in AI

Exclusive101:
See this foolish trying to downplay what they can not

You are a very big fool if you believed this, infant you are finished if you believed it.

Watch igbos labouring in vain to their death claiming this is fake n propaganda when anyone can hear the voices themselves. I know this is be the only election Peter Obi will be contesting before all his cards of failure is brought to bear n exposed just like ipob that sponsored him.

See this mad n foolish igbo that believe Buhari is Eljibrin n El Sudan is here yelling me not to believe Peter Obi n Oyedepo I have listened to their voices over 30 years.

It is the God almighty that you worship that will punish you n your entire household for thinking you can fool me calling real as fake to me. E no go beta for you forever.

kettykin:


You are a very big fool if you believed this, infant you are finished if you believed it.

Exclusive101:
Watch igbos labouring in vain to their death claiming this is fake n propaganda when anyone can hear the voices themselves. I know this is be the only election Peter Obi will be contesting before all his cards of failure is brought to bear n exposed just like ipob that sponsored him.

Only a statement in the video ridiculed the whole propaganda.

Obi doesn't vote in Onitsha as said in the video,but in his hometown, Agulu.

Who is the Mûmu now?

Kingsmeal:


Only a statement in the video ridiculed the whole propaganda.

Obi doesn't vote in Onitsha as said in the video,but in his hometown, Agulu.

Who is the Mûmu now?

Watch how they will go and do part 2 and correct that gaffe. Those folks are as useless as Satan, the only thing they are bringing to the table is chaos, hatred and agberoism.
If you open a thread to restructure or do a plebiscite, they will all come out in their best elements, they will rather vote a devil than allow this country progress

APC WON (S)ELECTION, AND STILL THE ONE CRYING AND WAILING. OBI IS COMING

We know na...

We no just wan talk nii

Just going to drop this here.

Please stop releasing audios abeg. This country needs healing.

I find it amusing though that when People Gazette released pictures of CJN mumudients told us it is the truth. Now that same paper released this audio and they say don't believe it, it's fake.

BrotherSade:
APC have come out physically to nail Peter Obi. They know that Peter Obi is the only politician in Nigeria without any sin or trace of corruption levelled against him.

This is fake audio 😎

You know them but you failed to caution your people when they started theirs against Tinubu.

Well, the three major contestants all used religious divides to try to win the election, though Atikus own was somehow subtle.

Stop playing 😂