US knows you lost the election - Keyamo slams Obi over Blinken criticism

Obi, in a series of tweets on his Twitter page on Friday, May 19, 2023, questioned the foundation and rationale of Blinken's phone call with the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Obi's reaction came following the telephone conversation between the U.S. Secretary of State and the President-elect, during which the former pledged his government's commitment to the incoming administration in Nigeria.

As reported by Pulse, Blinken assured Tinubu of the United State's readiness to further strengthen its relationship with Nigeria as well as discuss issues of interest concerning the two nations.

The U.S. official noted that the U.S.-Nigeria partnership was built on shared interests and strong people-to-people ties and that those links should continue strengthening under Tinubu's tenure.

But, while seeking clarity on the matter, Obi opined that it would have been more commendable for the U.S. State Secretary to initiate such a call after the Presidential Election Tribunal has validated Tinubu's victory.

He argued that the call, which seemed to have conferred legitimacy on Tinubu's election, signifies a betrayal of the most fundamental tenet and core value of democracy which is the rule of law.

It'd be recalled that Obi and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar, are currently locked in a legal battle with Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bid to overturn the outcome of the February 25 election.

Even though INEC results showed that the former Anambra State governor finished third in the race, he has maintained that he won the election and would stop at nothing to reclaim his "stolen mandate."

Responding to Obi, Keyamo, spokesman of the now-dissolved Tinubu presidential campaign council, claimed the U.S. knew the Labour Party candidate had no path to victory in the election.

The Minister said this in a tweet-reply to Obi's post where he also urged the 61-year-old politician to drop his "pretentious holier-than-thou attitude" which he said was "designed to appeal to the mob."

Keyamo's tweet read: "Your Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, I am sorry, but there is clarity as to the basis of the U."S. Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken’s call to @officialABAT and their pledge for support and cooperation. It’s obvious that you and your supporters have overrated your noise and tantrums after the election as having any real effect internationally. No, they have not had any such massive effect as you would wish.

"Unfortunately for you, the US have dealt with so many opposition figures around the world and they know exactly how to separate facts from fictions. They know you lost, fair and square. They know that in a complex society like Nigeria you could not have won with your message of ‘religious war’.

In a similar vein, Pulse also reported that Atiku disagreed with the United States over Blinke's call with Tinubu.

The former Vice President said he was left in disbelief that the Secretary of State called the President-elect, describing the move as a contradiction to the public position the U.S. had earlier taken on the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.