The Presidency has accused the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, of “hallucinating” over his renewed claim that he won the 2023 presidential election.
The Presidency also described the former Anambra State governor as being in a “political fantasy land” for continuing to maintain that he was the actual winner of the election.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, made the remarks while responding to Obi’s latest comments about the 2023 presidential election.
Dare accused Obi of being driven by what he described as excessive ambition and political arrogance, arguing that the matter had already been settled through the judicial process.
“To continue insisting that he won the election after the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment is nothing but clear hallucination,” Dare said.
The Presidency also rejected any suggestion that Obi had the authority to determine whether he should concede the election.
Dare questioned who had given Obi the authority to decide the outcome of the presidential contest, stressing that the power to determine the winner belongs to Nigerian voters.
According to him, elections are decided by the votes cast by Nigerians, rather than by the decision of any individual candidate to concede or reject an election result.
The 2023 presidential election was won by Bola Tinubu, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission. Obi finished third behind Tinubu and the then-candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
Obi and his Labour Party challenged the result in court, but the Supreme Court ultimately upheld Tinubu’s election victory in October 2023.
Despite the conclusion of the legal challenge, Obi has continued to maintain that he won the election, a position that has repeatedly drawn criticism from supporters of the Tinubu administration.
Dare said Nigerians would once again have the opportunity to determine the country’s next president through their votes in the 2027 presidential election.
The latest exchange comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 elections, with Obi and other opposition figures positioning themselves for the next presidential contest.
For now, the dispute over the 2023 election remains a major point of political disagreement between Obi’s camp and supporters of the Tinubu administration, despite the Supreme Court’s final judgment on the election petition.
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