Nigeria’s minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has faulted Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, over his decision to keep mum over the divisive remarks of his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Recall on March 22, the Labour Party vice presidential candidate claimed that Nigeria has no president-elect despite Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) being declared winner of the February 25 poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).

The APC candidate “has not met requirements of the law,” the LP vice presidential candidate claimed, adding that Tinubu would be presiding over an unconstitutional government if sworn into office.

While speaking with state house correspondents, the minister said nobody has the right to call for insurrection in the country. Lai Mohammed however condemned Peter Obi for not prevailing on his running mate over the statements he said were capable of setting the nation ablaze.

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“And that was precisely what Obi’s running mate said on live television and I have not heard Obi rein him in or correct him; so, if your running mate says something; of course, he was saying on behalf of the party and on behalf of the candidate.

“That is why I said that was treason; for anybody to say that if a duly elected president in Nigeria is sworn in, that will be the end of democracy is treason. For anybody to say if you swear in a duly elected president, you are swearing the military, it is treason.

“So , I don’t see anything controversy in that.”

While commenting on the 2023 general elections, Lai noted that the just concluded political contest was largely the least violent in the history of Nigeria.

“I went to the US to balance the skewed report about the just concluded elections; and everywhere I went, I said very unambiguously that the last general elections in Nigeria are the most transparent,” he said.

“It was the freest and the most authentic Nigeria had ever held, and that is despite the effort of the opposition to delegitimise the election.

“And I put forward my position there that the two reasons the election was the best was one.

“That the introduction of technology especially, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System(BVAS), made it pretty difficult for anybody to do the usual things before like over-voting, stuffing of ballot boxes and the likes because once it takes your biometrics; you cannot vote twice.’’

“The first instance was that the president did not confer any advantage on his ruling party; and that as far as he was concerned, he would rather lose the election than win at all cost; and the result showed it.”