APC Challenges Peter Obi Over Renewed 2023 Election Victory Assertion

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has challenged Peter Obi over his continued assertion that he was the rightful winner of Nigeria's 2023 presidential election, accusing the former Anambra State governor of making a claim unsupported by the official outcome.

The council's spokesman, Dele Alake, responded on Friday to comments Obi made during a BBC interview. Obi, who represented the Labour Party in the 2023 contest, maintained during that interview that he had won the election while also acknowledging that he did not have evidence for the assertion. The source reports that Obi has since been associated with the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.

Alake's council rejected Obi's position and argued that it conflicts with the established electoral record. Its statement pointed to the Independent National Electoral Commission's declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner and noted that challenges to the result subsequently went before the Presidential Election Petition Court and the Supreme Court, which upheld the outcome.

The APC campaign organisation also used its response to defend the Tinubu administration's performance. It claimed that the government's economic programme has contributed to greater economic stability, infrastructure development, support for smaller businesses and improvements in areas including healthcare, education and employment. Those assessments were presented by the APC council and were not independently established in the source report.

Beyond the disagreement over the 2023 election, the council raised a separate issue concerning Obi's period as governor of Anambra State. It referred to an earlier pledge attributed to him that he would leave the 2027 presidential race if official documentation showed that his administration handed over outstanding liabilities.

The APC council claimed that financial records from Anambra already demonstrate that such liabilities existed and called on Obi to act on the commitment it says he made. The source does not reproduce the records or independently assess that claim, so it remains an assertion by the campaign organisation.

The exchange adds another point of contention between the governing party's campaign structure and Obi as political activity builds toward 2027. The immediate dispute centres on his description of the 2023 result, while the APC response also seeks to shift attention to his record in Anambra and his stated conditions for participating in the next presidential election.