Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says he will only concede defeat in the 2027 presidential election if the process is adjudged free, fair and credible.
Obi made this known during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, where he said he would bow to the will of Nigerians should they vote for another candidate — but only under a transparent process.
“If the election is free, fair and credible, I will because it’s an election. It’s the people that would say who they want to serve, and I will respect the will of the people; that’s democracy,” he said.
Despite this, Obi insisted he was the authentic winner of the 2023 presidential election, maintaining that those who conducted the poll are aware of what truly transpired.
“I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election. Those who conducted it know the records; they know why there was a glitch and what happened,” he said.
On the debate around a “turn-by-turn” presidency, Obi argued that elections should not be decided along ethnic or religious lines, stressing his own qualifications for the office.
“Election should not be driven by tribe or religion. Today, in terms of qualification, I’m qualified to be president of Nigeria. I have the competence; I have been all over the world studying what it takes to be president of a country, and I know what I can do to turn around this country in the right direction,” he said.
He pointed to his academic credentials, citing stints at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia and Kellogg, and offered to withdraw from the race if any of his certificates were found to be fraudulent.
“You can look at our qualification in terms of training. I’ve been to the best schools from all over the world, from Oxford to Cambridge, Harvard, Columbia, and Kellogg, and I’ve been everywhere, and every certificate I’m showing you is the way it is. If they find anyone wrong, I will drop from the race,” he said.
Obi further decried the absence of youth representation in the country’s leadership, noting that no Nigerian born after 1960 has ascended to the presidency since independence.
“Since 1960, nobody born outside 1960 has been president of Nigeria. This is 66 years of independence; no other country in the world has had this happen to, and they tell youths they’re the leaders of tomorrow,” he said.
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