Obi: I Won 2023 Presidential Election, But There’s No Evidence

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has maintained that he won Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election, while acknowledging that he has no evidence to prove the claim.

Obi made the remarks in a recent interview with the BBC while discussing his continued position that the 2023 election was not fairly conducted.

Asked whether he still believed he had won the election after his legal challenges were dismissed by Nigerian courts, Obi said he stood by his earlier position.

“Well, quite frankly, I don’t like going back to the past. I still say what I said,” he said.

When the interviewer asked whether he had evidence to support his claim, Obi responded: “There is no evidence. Everything is not based on evidence. I won the election, and that is where I will end.”

Obi contested the February 25, 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform and finished third with 6,101,533 votes, according to the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress was declared winner with 8,794,726 votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party finished second with 6,984,520 votes.

Obi challenged the result at the Presidential Election Petition Court, alleging widespread irregularities and seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s victory.

The tribunal dismissed his petition in September 2023, finding that the allegations were not sufficiently established. The Supreme Court subsequently upheld Tinubu’s victory in October 2023 after dismissing appeals filed by Obi and Atiku.

Despite the court decisions, Obi has continued to maintain publicly that he won the election.

During the BBC interview, he was also asked about his political plans ahead of the 2027 election and whether he would step aside if opposition parties united behind another presidential candidate.

Obi rejected the suggestion that he should step aside, saying the opposition should instead focus on mobilising more voters.

“We don’t need to step down. We need to do the right thing,” he said.

His comments come as Nigerian political parties and opposition groups intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections.