Politics
JUST IN: “We truly beat them to that game”.” – Labour Party brag
JUST IN: “We truly beat them to that game”.” – Labour Party brag
Kennedy Ahanotu, the Acting National Youth Leader of the Labour Party, said on Thursday that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “expected that we jump to the streets so they can take advantage to damage our evidence and cause social unrest.”
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Ahanotu, who said this in a press briefing in Abuja, bragged that “we truly beat them to that game.”
This newspaper reports that the Labour Party is challenging the results of the February 25 presidential election in court.
The opposition party accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of electoral irregularities and violations of the constitution for failing to declare a winner of last month’s presidential poll.
Recall that the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, was declared the winner of the election by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, on March 1.
Tinubu polled 8.8 million votes to defeat his closest rivals, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Atiku polled 6,984,520; Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes; and Kwankwaso polled 1,476,697.
Ahanotu’s statement reads in full: “Let me reiterate our profound appreciation to all Nigerians who have believed in our President in Waiting, Mr. Peter Obi, and Vice President, Dr. Datti Baba Ahmed.
“Truth be told, you voted for the Labour Party, and Peter Obi won that election, which is why we are challenging such rascality in court.
“Thank you for the patience and high level of maturity with which we have managed ourselves so far after the wrongful declaration of the election results. Ordinarily, they expected that we would jump to the streets so they could take advantage to damage our evidence and cause social unrest, but we truly beat them to that game.
“Ours is to remain resolute, determined, and focused towards reclaiming our stolen mandate, which by God’s grace we must surely achieve.
“We never expected the journey to be smooth or free from challenges, but we were ready to face the storms, however lengthy and tortuous, to regain freedom and true democracy in Nigeria.
“On a specific note, we have an election on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Election across the country. This election has given us another opportunity to identify true believers.
“It is important to note that the Labour Party stands by all its candidates in this election. But of greater significance is that our protest against the electoral fraud on February 25, 2023 begins on Saturday, March 18, at all the polling units across the country. In the last election, they said we were four people tweeting in a room, but to their shock, we took over the space, and despite all the fraud, they allocated over 6 million votes to us even when they knew that “obligants” were more than 15 million people with PVCs to vote.
“We must protest by coming out en masse to cast our votes for the Labour Party governorship and house of assembly candidates. This simple assignment is the first step in telling the world that the Labour Party won the election.
“Let’s show the opposition that we are resolute in the project of taking back our country. We must at least capture Lagos, Enugu, Edo, the Plateau, Benue, Taraba, the Rivers, Abia, and Anambra, in fact, all the south-southeast states.
“This we must do to prove that we are irreversibly addicted.” We must stand up to challenge the status quo, and I beg all the youths, security officials, and some INEC officials who are opting to be ready tools in the hands of the old order politicians to think twice. Do not join in oppressing and intimidating our youth. The lives and futures of Nigerian youths matter. Enough is enough.
“In conclusion, I urge you, my fellow ‘Obidients,” to desist from “Obidient’ political statements on Saturday’s election.”
