The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Labour Party (LP) has dismissed the recent petition filed by Festus Keyamo, a Spokesman for President-Elect Ahmed Tinubu, calling for the arrest of LP Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Dr Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, over alleged treasonable felony. The LP PCC called the petition a desperate attempt to gain political relevance.
Yunusa Tanko, the spokesperson for the LP PCC, made this statement in Abuja on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Keyamo had petitioned security agencies to arrest the LP candidates for allegedly preparing grounds for insurrection against the Nigerian State over the declaration of Tinubu as President-Elect.
In response, Tanko said, “Datti is a free citizen of this country and entitled to his fundamental right of Freedom of Expression. Datti never called for insurrection or any act envisaging treason.”
Tanko also criticized Keyamo for failing to report instances of violence and voter suppression orchestrated by the ruling party during the elections. He accused Keyamo of being a “known Rabble rouser and chatterbox who doesn’t want to lose political relevance before his paymaster.”
Tanko added, “Keyamo talked about healing, which means Nigeria is sick, that means he recognized that the February 25th which announced his principal as the President-elect, and the March 18 state Elections were marred with blatant rigging, high-level violence, voters suppression and intimidation orchestrated by his party.”
Tanko further criticized Keyamo’s silence on the ethnic and tribal vitriol against non-Yoruba in Lagos, where MC Oluomo allegedly told Igbos not to vote.
“The so-called ‘patriotic citizen’ didn’t report MC Oluomo. After the shameful Chatam House appearance of Keyamo’s principal, his principal was recorded telling key supporters to fight, snatch, grab, and run with ballot boxes which were exactly what happened in the elections. Why didn’t Keyamo the ‘Patriotic citizen’ report to the DSS?”
The LP PCC maintained that Keyamo’s accusations were baseless and that he was attempting to remain politically relevant before his paymaster.
