The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has described a call by Tinubu-Shettima support group to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify his candidacy for violating electoral act as desolate and baseless.

Obi, in a statement issued on Sunday by his campaign media office, said he is not seeking funding rather he is engaging Nigerians in the diaspora to discuss the Nigerian project and his plan to rebuilding the country.

The statement read: “The Obi-Datti Media Office attention has been drawn to the desolate and baseless allegation by a support group of Tinubu-Shettima calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba- Ahmed from the 2023 presidential election for allegedly violating a section of Electoral Act on Election funding.

“Obi’s successful trip abroad which is essentially to sensitize and carry along Nigerians aboard on his upcoming agenda of rebuilding the country is open and transparent and not a fund raising. But we know why its discomforting some people, because they cannot meet Nigerians in diaspora knowing that they contributed to their leaving the country in the first place.

”We have always said it umpteenth times that their own understanding of structure is the abundance of looted funds in their kitty that they plan to deploy on hungry Nigerian voters during the election to sway their votes.”

The Obi-Datti media office added that Obi did not go to beg for money but to sell himself and his mission to Nigerians outside the shores who are critical stakeholders in the Nigeria project.

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It accused the candidates of major parties of weakening the nation’s currency, saying they have been “mopping up foreign currencies ahead of the election to buy voter”.

It added: “Obi and his Running mate are knowledgeable duo who know the law and operate within it and who became what they are financially, politically and socially doing legitimate businesses. They have no bullion van history of questionable wealth and are ready and willing to be scrutinised.

“Just as Obi and Datti backgrounds and antecedents are verifiable so also is their source of income before and now are unambiguous and auditable.

“The Tinubu-Shettima ticket which earlier dismissed Obi as social media candidate now sees him as threat and they lacked content and market that Obi enjoy.

“We understand their predicament, the dearth of contents from their principal, the lack of what to market, using the ample opportunity provided by the campaigns and the resort to searching blindly for reasons to disqualify the people’s only hope for a new and better Nigeria.

“Suddenly, they are beginning to realize that the social media giant, the structure-less and inconsequential candidates, are in the heart of the people who are convinced by their pragmatic messages. In frustration and envy they are now desperately looking for all crooked ways to stop them.

“The old order that kept us down as a nation will still work, to read the hand writing on the wall and know that their time is up and that Nigerians are ready and determined to take back their country now.”

The Star