Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has challenged Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), to provide clarity on a leaked audio conversation allegedly with the founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo. The minister wants to know if the video was doctored and which part of it was affected. Mohammed addressed the media in London yesterday, stating that Obi should clarify his statement that the leaked conversation was a “fake, doctored audio call.”
The leaked audio clip features Obi pleading with the cleric to intervene on his behalf and convince Christians that it’s a religious war, and they should support him. Mohammed said that after the leaked audio, Obi stated that it was a fake, doctored audio call. The minister said, “If it is fake, it means it never took place. But if it is doctored, it means there was that conversation but it was manipulated.”
Mohammed emphasized that Obi must clarify whether the conversation did not take place or it took place, but it was doctored. The minister further noted that the leaked audio clip corroborated the position that Obi’s electioneering campaign was based on religion and ethnicity, which is a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s politics.
The minister stated that Nigeria has never experienced this kind of political campaign based on ethnicity and religion in its history, and it is not good for the politics of Nigeria. Mohammed stated that Nigeria is more divided than ever because of this campaign, and people are heard commenting based on their religious or ethnic origin.
The minister will be meeting with international media organizations and think-tanks in London to defend the legitimacy of the just concluded general elections and to correct the imbalance in the skewed narrative which had pervaded the air on the polls.
In summary, Minister Lai Mohammed has challenged Peter Obi to clarify his position on a leaked audio of the conversation he allegedly had with Bishop David Oyedepo. Mohammed wants to know if the video was doctored and which part of it was affected. The minister noted that the leaked audio clip corroborated the position that Obi’s electioneering campaign was based on religion and ethnicity, which is a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s politics. The minister will be meeting with international media organizations and think-tanks in London to defend the legitimacy of the just concluded general elections.