Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has acknowledged that he has no evidence to substantiate his claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, while insisting that he remains convinced that he was the actual winner.
Obi made the remarks in a recent interview with BBC Africa while discussing his position on the disputed 2023 election and his plans to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Asked directly whether he had evidence to support his claim of victory in the 2023 election, Obi said, “There’s no evidence. Everything is not based on evidence.”
He nevertheless maintained that he won the election, adding, “I won the election and that’s where I will end. I don’t like going back to the past. I won the election (2023). Well, there’s no evidence but I won the election.”
Obi contested the February 25, 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party and was placed third in the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The electoral commission declared Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner with 8,794,726 votes, while Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar came second with 6,984,520 votes. Obi recorded 6,101,533 votes.
Following the declaration, Obi and the Labour Party challenged the outcome at the Presidential Election Petitions Court, alleging electoral irregularities and non-compliance with electoral laws.
The five-member tribunal dismissed the petition on September 6, 2023, and upheld Tinubu’s victory.
Obi later took the case to the Supreme Court, but a seven-member panel of the apex court dismissed his appeal on October 26, 2023, ruling that it lacked merit and affirming the lower court’s decision. Despite the court decisions, Obi has continued to reject the 2023 election outcome as a true reflection of the votes cast by Nigerians.
