The Labour Party has slammed Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, for saying the leadership of the LP knew the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, lost the 2023 presidential election.
Soyinka had said the LP leaders attempted to force “a lie” on Nigerians, especially the youths, that Obi won the February 25 election.
The renowned playwright stated that the former governor of Anambra State came third in the presidential poll, alleging that the Labour Party leadership knew Obi lost the election “but they want to do what we call in Yoruba ‘gbajue’, that is force of lies”.
He further accused the LP leadership of mobilising Nigerian youths to protest against the outcome of the election on the “banner of lies and deceit”.
Soyinka, however, said Obi achieved “something remarkable” by breaking the monopoly of power established by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Reacting via a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, on Thursday, September 14, 2023, the Labour Party said it expected Soyinka to be a statesman and remain impartial on the election.
The party stated that the facts on the 2023 general election are before the courts, noting that “out of respect for our judiciary, we will reserve our comments until the Supreme Court makes a final pronouncement.”
It added: “We understand that the literary giant is human and thus susceptible to emotions and probably said what he said based on information made available to him by those who share the ‘Emilokan sentiment’.
“In Yoruba, ‘Gbajue’ refers to fraudulent activities like age, name or certificate forgery, 419 or narcotics trafficking, all of which are issues in the 2023 elections but not on the Labour Party’s part.
“It’s rather interesting that the erudite Prof. Soyinka who owned up to having an electoral ‘monitoring unit’ conveniently glossed over INEC’s legerdemain leading to substantial non compliance and erosion of constitutional dictates, just as he conveniently glossed over the INEC’s advanced ‘gbajue’ of 25 February that has surreptitiously installed the King of ‘gbajue’ in Aso Rock.
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“We really appreciate him for at least giving some credits to Labour Party and its Presidential candidate for breaking the monopoly of power hitherto held by the two other parties.
“We also noted his admission of his willingness to be part of a demonstration which would be based on the banner of truth.”
The LP further lashed out at Soyinka over his silence on the alleged malpractice and violence that trailed the 2023 general election, saying its supporters were allegedly attacked by APC members in Lagos.
It stated: “We are aware that Soyinka resides in Lagos State and he was in Nigeria in February 25 when elections held in Nigeria. He watched probably with a glee when a certain individual in Lagos warned non-indigenes to vote a particular political party or risk being deported to their place of birth, and he never condemned it.
“He was there were ballot boxes were snatched by thugs in a polling booth right in front of his house, he didn’t condemned it.
“We are still looking for where he came out to condemn the unprovoked attacks on our supporters in Lagos by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, during the last elections.
“The whole world followed the 2023 general election in Nigeria and there was a global condemnation of not only the outcome of the election but also the process, particularly, the ‘glitching’ incidence that occurred only during the transmission of presidential result to IREV.
“As someone who is known to demonstrate based on truth, we didn’t hear as much as a whisper from Kongi reminding INEC that stand by its word.
“He also watched when Labour Party provided evidences of several defaced result sheets permitted and uploaded to the IREV by INEC particularly in places where Labour Party won, again the great Soyinka was astonishingly mute.
“We will not allege selective amnesia as the reason for Soyinka’s wrong prognosis but we would have expected him to be a statesman which we thought he was by remaining on the side of caution and not exhibiting dual character of someone who may be blinded by some chauvinistic tendencies.
“We would rather keep our impression about his recent dual personality with us. We want to also let him know that building a New Nigeria is a dream which time has come and Nigerian youths will not relent until such dream is realized.”
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