EXPLAINED: Why I Linked Peter Obi With Treason – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has revealed why he accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, of treason. According to Mohammed, he accused Obi of treason because he did not rebuke his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, for saying that if the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, is sworn in on May 29, it would be the end of democracy in the country. The minister said the failure of Obi to correct his running mate means that Baba-Ahmed said the mind of Obi.

“I went to the US to balance the skewed report about the just-concluded elections. And everywhere I went, I said it very unambiguously that the last general elections in Nigeria are the most transparent, the freest and authentic,” said Mohammed while addressing state house correspondents on Wednesday after the FEC meeting.

He further stated, “What I said about Mr Peter Obi is very clear. I said, Mr Peter has every right to seek redress in court like Labour Party. But nobody has the right to call for insurrection or to threaten to say that if the President-elect is sworn in, that would be the end of democracy. That was precisely what the running mate of Mr Peter Obi said on television. And I have not heard Peter Obi reign him in or correct him.”

Mohammed added, “So if your running mate says something, of course, he was saying it on behalf of the party and the candidate. That’s why I said that it was treason for anybody to say that if a duly elected President in Nigeria is sworn in, that would be the end of democracy. So I don’t see anything controversial in that.”