Peter Obi has said there is no evidence to prove his claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, while maintaining that he believes he won the contest.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate made the statement in a recent BBC Africa interview while discussing his claim that the election was rigged.
Asked whether he had evidence to prove that he won, Obi said, “There’s no evidence. Everything is not based on evidence.” He, however, maintained his position, saying, “I won the election and that’s where I will end.”
Obi, who finished third in the election according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, also defended his repeated claims that the poll was rigged despite the dismissal of his legal challenges. “I don’t like going back to the past. I sustain what I said,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also addressed his position on fuel subsidy, saying his stance had not changed, but that his comments on methodology had been misunderstood. “I’ve not changed. What has changed is that whenever I talk about methodology, people say, oh, it has changed,” he said. He added that his position had always included concerns about corruption in the subsidy regime.
On corruption, Obi said he would personally lead the fight if elected president, arguing that his direct involvement would help reduce corruption. “If you are not stealing, if you are not involved, your wife and family are not involved, you reduce it by 50 percent,” he said. Asked about corruption under former President Muhammadu Buhari, Obi said, “He wasn’t in charge. The difference is this. I would be in charge.”
Obi also rejected the suggestion that he would step down if opposition parties united behind another presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 election, saying the focus should instead be on mobilising more voters. “We don’t need to step down. We need to do the right thing,” he said.