Peter Obi asks his legal team to sue those who published what he said was a fake phone call with Oyedepo

FORMER Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi plans to take legal action against media outlets publishing details of a private conversation between himself and Bishop David Oyedepo.

Over the last week, the media has been awash with versions of the conversation between Governor obi and Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, popularly known as Winners Chapel. In the conversation, Governor Obi was heard telling Bishop Oyedepo that the presidential election was a religious war and the clergyman should help him beg people in the southwest geo-political zone and Kwara State, especially Christians, to support his ambition.

Reacting to the story, Governor Obi said that at no point in his issue-based campaign did he ever refer to the election as a religious war. He also lamented alleged attempts by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to divert attention from his blatantly stolen mandate duting the last elections.

Governor Obi said: “These have come and continue to manifest in different ways, such as the malicious accusation of the minister of information, Mr Lai Mohammed, the circulation of a fake doctored audio call and pressure on me to leave the country. Let me reiterate that the audio call being circulated is fake and at no time throughout the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was a religious war.

“While we call on all concerned Nigerians and the international community to implore the APC to stop their nasty attacks, my focus and commitment to lawfully and peacefully retrieve our mandate to secure and unite our nation, take Nigeria from consumption to production, pull millions of Nigerians out of multidimensional poverty, especially in the north and jump-start prosperity through agricultural, industrial, and technological revolution remain unchanged.”

He added that his legal team had been instructed to take appropriate legal actions against the online media platform that published the leaked audio. Online media outlet Peoples Gazette, was the first to publish the story and is likely to be the one served with a writ by Peter Obi's lawyers.