From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
More than a year after the 2023 presidential primaries and subsequent general election, a former Labour Party (LP) presidential aspirant in the 2023 general election, Faduri Oluwadare Joseph, also known as Fadojoe, has alleged that after working hard to revive the LP and declaring his aspiration to contest for the Presidency under the party, Mr Peter Obi allegedly hijacked the party and collected the presidential ticket, denying him the race.
However, responding to the allegations, Dr Yunusa Tanko, Peter Obi Media Release (POMR) Spokesman, said: “It is amazing that after the 2023 general elections, one year plus, a candidate (Fadojoe) who participated in the primary, not under duress, nobody forced him to withdraw, because even if he contested against Peter Obi in the primaries, of which I was a member of that electoral team, he couldn’t have scored one vote on that floor.”
In a statement made available to Daily Sun by Fadojoe’s Media Adviser, Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba, the presidential aspirant said he moved to the Labour Party with his team when the party was comatose and worked towards reviving and rebuilding it.
“But only for Mr Peter Obi to come a few days to the presidential primary to hijack the system, collect his presidential ticket, and sideline him with his vibrant team in the presidential election campaign.
“Despite what happened, he was still ready to work with Mr Peter Obi with his team to win the 2023 presidential election, but Obi and his handlers deliberately and consistently ignored his team despite the vibrancy.
“His Excellency Mr Peter Obi was really not ready to win that election. He only grabbed my ticket and wasted it when he had every opportunity.
“I spent millions of my hard-earned money towards rebuilding the Labour Party and in my campaign towards getting the Labour Party presidential ticket to rescue Nigeria from its woes. I foresaw things like the ones we are seeing and living through in our country today, and when His Excellency, Peter Obi, hijacked the ticket, one would have expected him to have refunded part of what I spent or even told the party to refund at least what I paid for the Labour Party presidential nomination form or expression of intent form.
“But nothing was refunded either by the party that collected the money from me and turned to force me and others not to contest the ticket with His Excellency Obi, or Obi himself, who was the direct beneficiary. Well, Nigerians will soon hear my steps towards seeking redress,” the statement said.
But Peter Obi Media Release (POMR) Spokesman insists: “So, if you do not have any particular electoral value in a primary, and here you come one year after, you’re now crying foul play, that shows the level of incompetence and lack of democratic ethos in the person you are.
“In the first place, you did not contest the election because Peter Obi was contesting the election. You contested the election for yourself, and you feel you are popular. So, if you’re popular, you run for election on your own.
“When you were contesting, you paid your money; Peter Obi was just a contestant just like you, and he paid just like you paid. So, why would you be expecting him to come and monetise you for paying to the party in which you belong? It’s a non-refundable expense that you took for the interest of the party that you belong to. So, in fact, it’s a corrupt way of thinking when you think probably a candidate that emerged would come and gratify you.
“It’s not as if you stepped down for him. Professor Pat Utomi, who stepped down for him, you can ask him, not a single kobo was given to him. He stepped down on his own volition and has continued working for the party and working with the candidate.
“So, if you’re to work with the candidate, in this regard, it shows that you were the one that’s not actually prepared in the first place to run for election. You came in just to come and look for money; you, at the end of the day, somebody dropped, he would now pay you off, you can double what you’ve expended, at the same time put your cronies into the campaign council, thinking that probably there’s money.
“It was not a genuine contest that was done by this particular fellow. I think he owes His Excellency Peter Obi a full apology for making this particular unwarranted and unverifiable claim that does not hold water.
“It’s quite insulting to the sensibilities of Nigerians. You contested, I contested, you were defeated, and you said I should pay you. It doesn’t sound sensible at all. I’m so sorry, I’m disappointed in the intellectual capacity of this particular individual,” Tanko said.