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Labour Party campaign organisation has reacted to insinuations that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has gone underground after his defeat at the Supreme Court.
On Thursday, October 26, 2023, the Supreme Court ended Obi's quest to claim the presidency from President Bola Tinubu as a seven-member panel of justices unanimously dismissed his petition and that of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The judgement brought to an end a 171-day legal tussle to overturn the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the February 25 presidential election.
In the lead judgement read by Justice Inyang Okoro, the chairman of the panel, the apex court refused to consider the certificate forgery allegation levelled against Tinubu by Atiku and said the 25% in FCT claim by the petitioners is a non-issue.
The judges also held that the petitioners failed to prove that the election was manipulated or that the non-functioning of the IReV on election day affected the results.
Meanwhile, a flurry of anger and condemnation trailed the Supreme Court judgement, with opposition supporters, including Labour Party leaders and sympathisers, expressing their displeasure.
Amid the hues and cries, however, Obi has remained silent, leading to speculations that the former Anambra State governor is still smarting from the defeat and has decided to keep things on the low.
Debunking the insinuations, the spokesman of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, said the candidate travelled out of the country long before the Supreme Court verdict arrived, hence his non-reaction.
While Obi has remained tight-lipped since the development, the Labour Party, in its reaction, alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has hijacked both the judicial and legislative arms of government.
The Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, made the claim at a press conference held hours after the apex court affirmed Tinubu's election last Thursday.