NEWS
Peter Obi’s 2023 Victory Claim Sparks Fresh Clash With Presidency as Sunday Dare Accuses Him of ‘Political Arrogance’
The long-running controversy over the outcome of the 2023 presidential election has resurfaced, following renewed claims by former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that he won the election.
Obi’s latest assertion has triggered a sharp reaction from the Presidency, with Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, accusing the former Labour Party presidential candidate of refusing to accept the judicial verdict that brought the 2023 presidential election dispute to an end.
Dare described Obi’s continued insistence that he won the election as evidence of what he termed “political arrogance”, arguing that the Supreme Court’s final judgment should have settled the matter.
The presidential aide also accused Obi of living in what he described as a “political fantasy”, insisting that the former Anambra governor could no longer claim victory after the nation’s highest court had upheld President Tinubu’s election.
“Mr. Peter Obi is fat on ambition but drunk on political arrogance.”
“Peter Obi wallows freely in a political fantasy land. To still insist he won the presidential election after the country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, delivered a final judgment is clear hallucination.
“Who imbued him with the power to concede or not? He lacks such power. Only the Nigerian people have the power of the votes.
“And in 2027, they will deliver their votes massively for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, leaving no room for the kind of antics Peter Obi is already front-loading.”
The fresh exchange followed an interview Obi granted Arise TV, during which the NDC presidential candidate discussed the 2023 election, his preparations for the 2027 presidential contest and the principles he said should guide the choice of Nigeria’s next president.
During the interview, Obi maintained that he would accept the outcome of the 2027 presidential election if the process is free, fair and credible.
He said the decision of Nigerians at the ballot box must be respected, stressing that accepting the will of voters is fundamental to democracy.
“If the election is free, fair and credible, I will because it’s an election. It’s the people that would say who they want to serve, and I will respect the will of the people; that’s democracy,” he said.
However, while expressing his willingness to accept a credible 2027 result, Obi made it clear that he had not changed his position regarding the 2023 presidential election.
“I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election. Those who conducted it know the records; they know why there was a glitch and what happened.”
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, finishing third behind Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Both Obi and Atiku challenged the election result in court, but after the legal battle moved through the judicial system, the Supreme Court ultimately affirmed Tinubu’s victory.
Despite the conclusion of the legal process, Obi has repeatedly maintained that the official results did not accurately represent what he believed happened during the election.
His latest comments therefore appear set to keep the 2023 election debate alive as the political atmosphere surrounding the 2027 presidential contest continues to intensify.
Beyond the dispute over the 2023 election, Obi used the Arise TV interview to make a case for what he believes should determine Nigeria’s choice of president in 2027.
He argued that competence, rather than ethnicity or religion, should be the primary consideration, while highlighting his educational and professional experiences as part of his credentials for the presidency.
“Election should not be driven by tribe or religion. Today, in terms of qualification, I’m qualified to be president of Nigeria. I have the competence; I have been all over the world studying what it takes to be president of a country, and I know what I can do to turn around this country in the right direction,” he said.
The former Anambra governor further pointed to his educational background, listing several internationally recognised institutions where he said he had studied.
“You can look at our qualification in terms of training. I’ve been to the best schools from all over the world, from Oxford to Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia, and Kellogg, and I’ve been everywhere, and every certificate I’m showing you is the way it is. If they find anyone wrong, I will drop from the race,” he added.
Obi also raised concerns about Nigeria’s political leadership structure, particularly the continued dominance of older generations in presidential politics despite repeated assurances that young Nigerians represent the country’s future.
“Since 1960, nobody born outside 1960 has been president of Nigeria. This is 66 years of independence; no other country in the world has had this happen to, and they tell youths they’re the leaders of tomorrow,” Obi said.
On economic policy, Obi discussed the foreign exchange reforms introduced under the Tinubu administration, particularly the decision to allow the naira to float.
Rather than promising to reverse the policy outright, Obi said his approach would be to focus on strengthening productivity and economic output in order to improve the value of the currency.
“There’s one, the floating of the Naira. I’m not going to defend it. But I’m going to put productivity to make it more valuable to the people,” he said.
The naira was floated by the Tinubu administration in June 2023 as part of broader foreign exchange reforms designed to reduce distortions created by multiple exchange rates and allow market forces to play a greater role in determining the currency’s value.
With the 2027 presidential race gradually taking shape, Obi’s renewed insistence that he won the 2023 election is likely to remain a major talking point, particularly as his political camp positions itself for another national contest.
The latest exchange between Obi and the Presidency also highlights the increasingly charged political environment ahead of 2027, with questions surrounding the 2023 election, economic reforms, leadership credentials, generational change and the credibility of the next presidential poll expected to remain central to political debate.