Atiku's witness denies accusing Obi of rigging election in Anambra

Chief Ndubisi Nwobu, a star witness presented by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has refuted claims that he accused the Labour Party presidential flag-bearer, Peter Obi, of rigging the election in Anambra State.

Some media outlets (excluding Pulse) had reported that Nwobu, who also doubles as the Anambra State PDP Chairman, had told the court on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, that Obi manipulated the February 25 presidential election result in the South-East state.

It'd be recalled that Nwobu narrated in court how Atiku was allegedly cheated out in Anambra State during the presidential election.

He alleged that “magic happened to the votes of the PDP candidate at different collation centres in Anambra."

The witness also said he visited about 30 polling units out of the 4,720 polling units in the state on election day.

He added that he was forced to sign the result sheet of the election at the state collation centre otherwise he wouldn't have been given a copy.

“I signed the result sheet when it was obvious that without signing, a copy would not be made available to me,” Nwobu said.

“Results were entered at polling units. But, every effort made to get the presiding officer to upload it on IREV proved abortive.”

Nwobu debunks accusing Obi

Nwobu, while reacting to the erroneous report on Thursday, June 8, 2023, said his statement has been twisted to divert attention from the real issues.

His reaction was conveyed through the state deputy director in charge of media and publicity of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Committee, Uloka Chibuike.

The PDP Chairman clarified that the petitions filed by his party at the tribunal were against the President, Bola Tinubu, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stressing that it has nothing to do with Obi or Labour Party.

Peter Obi saying hello to his legal team Pulse Nigeria

The statement read: ”The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party and Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Committee in Anambra State has been drawn to a publication in the public space where the purveyors of fake news alleged that Chief Ndubisi Nwobu claimed that Peter Obi rigged the presidential election in Anambra State at the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Court.

“This is not only false, wicked and devilish, but also a deliberate attempt by a few innuendos to discredit and blackmail Chief Nwobu’s person.

“We wish to state unequivocally and for the record that the Peoples Democratic Party did not file a petition against the Labour Party, nor did the PDP name the Labour Party as a respondent in her suits at the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Court; rather, our petitions are against the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Chief Ndubisi Nwobu was at the Tribunal on the 7th day of June, 2023, as the 11th witness of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party, to testify against INEC’s refusal to adhere to its own election guidelines, which states that polling unit results are to be electronically transmitted with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) directly and in real-time to the IREV portal.

“Chief Ndubisi Nwobu did not, by any means or disguise states that Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, ‘rigged’ the presidential election in Anambra State or anywhere else.

“The tribunal went further to ask Chief Nwobu who won the election in Anambra State; he responded explicitly that the Labour Party won the presidential election in the state and that his party is not in court with the Labour Party, but with INEC, having reneged on her own guidelines.

“While we call on unsuspecting members of the public to kindly disregard the fake news that Chief Ndubisi Nwobu accused Peter Obi of rigging the presidential elections in Anambra State, we also wish to warn online bloggers against patronizing stories with sensational headlines without proper investigations.

“The Peoples Democratic Party and Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, are determined to present all evidence against INEC and the APC to convince the Presidential Election Petition Court that the mandate willingly given to Atiku Abubakar by the majority of Nigerians was wrongly appropriated and that such matters must be addressed to retrieve the mandate from the APC.

“Those wishing to divert attention, frame and defame innocent individuals, should desist or face the consequences of their actions.”