The Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has confirmed the authenticity of a viral telephone conversation between Peter Obi, its candidate, and Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church.
Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman for the PCC, in a release made via his social media handles on Sunday morning, said Obi was simply asking Oyedepo to help pass a message to voters.
Okonkwo, speaking on reactions trailing the audio’s release, said Obi was not fanning a religious war but “the other party” was.
His statement read, “Our attention has been drawn to the publication of this audio tape of private conversation between Peter Obi and Bishop Oyedepo. It is not surprising that these political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if Obi was making a religious statement.
“Firstly, the context of the conversation was aptly put by Bishop Oyedepo when he said, ‘All Nigerians have equal stake in this nation, nobody has the right to claim that he is dashing something to someone’.
“H. E. Peter Obi was simply urging the Bishop to help him push this message of equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project to his people and the christiandom because the politicians of the other party is carrying on this campaign as if it is a religious war.
“To drive home this point, he informed him that he visited the traditional ruler of Offa, the Olofa of Offa, who is a Muslim, but who advised Obi to get the support of Oyedepo and be assured of his own support. No Politician has ever visited the Olofa of Offa. It is clear to everybody that the APC political party that has a Presidential Candidate, Vice Presidential Candidate, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Chairman of the Party all from one religion at a time the CJN is a Muslim is the Party that has declared religious war on Nigerians and we must all rise up together to fight this unconstitutional act of religious intolerance of other religions by APC.
“I went around with Obi on campaign train and never saw him discriminate against any religion. Of course he can’t because his Vice is a Muslim unlike APC. I resigned from APC because of their religious intolerance. Nigerians should disregard any insinuation of religious bigots about this tape.”
Earlier, a conversation between the two men went viral. In the recorded conversation, Obi was heard telling Oyedepo about a “religious war”, to which the clergyman responded, “I agree with that.”
FIJ fact-checked this audio and found it to be authentic.
Neither of the two men has responded to the viral audio.