Minister of Information Lai Mohammed yesterday explained why he accused the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi of treason.
He said Obi did not condemn the alleged inciting comments made by his running mate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed on national television.
The minister spoke with reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
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Asked why he faulted Obi during his recent trip to the United States, the minister said: “What I said about Mr Peter Obi is very clear.
“I said Mr Peter Obi 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 will be the end of democracy.
“That was precisely what the running mate of Mr Peter Obi said on live television and I have not heard Peter Obi rein him in or correct him.
“So, if your running mate said something, of course, he is saying it on behalf of the party and that of the candidate.
“That’s why it’s an act of treason, for anybody to say if a duly elected president in Nigeria is sworn in, that will be the end of democracy.
“It’s treason for anybody to say if you swear in a duly elected president, you’re swearing in the military. It is crazy. So, I don’t see anything controversial in that.”
Mohammed said he went to the United States to balance skewed reports on the recent general election.
To him, the poll was “the most transparent, freest and authentic ever held despite the effort of the opposition to delegitimise the election”.
Baba-Ahmed had faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for issuing a certificate of return to the President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima.
Speaking during a programme on Channels, he said: “Swearing in Tinubu and Shettima is as good as swearing in the Nigerian Army on the 29th of May.
“If you swear in people who have not satisfied the requirement (of 25 per cent in the FCT), you have by so doing ended democracy.
“The crisis I am telling you about is that our democracy is going to end by the way we’re going.
“This democracy is going to end on the 29th of May, 2023. Please write it down.”
When cautioned by the anchor for holding extreme thoughts, Baba-Ahmed said: “Swearing in a ticket that has not met the constitutional requirement is ending democracy. Quote me on it….
“Mr President, do not hold that inauguration. CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria), Your Lordship, do not partake in unconstitutionality.”
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Baba-Ahmed’s comments were despite his and Obi’s pending petition before the Presidential Election Petition Court challenging Tinubu’s declaration.
Channels was eventually fined N5million for not cutting off the guest as he spoke.
The Nation
