The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has defended himself against calls for his arrest and prosecution made by Elder Statesman and Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark. Clark had accused Mohammed of spreading “fake news” about Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and had called for his arrest.
Speaking in London on Wednesday, Mohammed stated that he stood by his previous admonition of Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed. He emphasized that his advice was never based on falsehood and therefore, the call for his arrest was unjustifiable.
The Minister further explained that he had only criticized Obi for inciting the public to violence during a live television appearance where he stated that if the President-elect Bola Tinubu is sworn-in on May 29, that would be the end of democracy in Nigeria. Mohammed also criticized Baba-Ahmed for stating that swearing-in Tinubu in May 29 is like swearing-in the military. He questioned why his chiding of the Labour Party candidates was being deemed as “fake news” by Clark.
Mohammed also stated that Baba-Ahmed had never denied his statement made on live television, and that Obi had also not publicly called his running mate to order over the treasonable utterances. The Minister reminded everyone that the position of the law is clear: anyone who is aggrieved over election results should go to court and not threaten Nigerians or heat up the polity simply because they lost an election.
Furthermore, Mohammed stressed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election “fair and square” and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right in declaring Tinubu the winner. He reassured Nigerians and the international community that the President-elect would be sworn-in on May 29 as planned.
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