The Minister of Solid Minerals Development and spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, has described the claim by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, that he won the 2023 general election as “delusional.”
Alake, who criticised Obi over his recent remarks during an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), accused the former Anambra State governor of making claims without evidence.
The minister, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, faulted Obi for insisting that he won the 2023 presidential election while reportedly acknowledging that he had no evidence to support the claim.
New Telegraph had earlier reported that Obi had said during the BBC interview: “I don’t like going back to the past. I won the last election. There’s no evidence, but I won the election. Everything is not based on evidence.”
Reacting, Alake described the remarks as troubling, arguing that a presidential aspirant should be guided by facts and verifiable evidence.
“Nothing is more annoying than Obi’s recent claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, while simultaneously admitting he lacks the evidence to support it,” he said.
The minister further accused Obi of disregarding facts and truth, insisting that the former governor’s position contradicted the official outcome of the election.
“For a candidate who placed a distant third in the presidential poll to persistently insist he won — without evidence and contrary to all official records — reflects a deep and troubling disconnection from reality and absolute disregard for facts and truth,” Alake said.
He added that Obi’s alleged tendency to exaggerate facts was unbecoming of someone seeking to lead the country.
Alake also questioned the sources of Obi’s claims, making sarcastic references to the former governor’s supporters.
The APC spokesman maintained that President Bola Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election, citing the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the subsequent decisions of the presidential election petition tribunal and the Supreme Court affirming the outcome.
“President Tinubu won the 2023 election decisively. There can be no doubt about it. The Independent National Electoral Commission confirmed his victory. The election tribunal and the country’s highest court affirmed it,” he said.
Alake also defended the Tinubu administration, claiming that its policies and programmes had helped stabilise the economy, expand infrastructure, support businesses and young people, improve education and healthcare, and create employment opportunities.
However, the administration’s performance and the effects of its economic reforms remain subjects of political debate as parties and prospective candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 general election.
The minister also challenged Obi to honour an earlier pledge to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race if it is established that his administration in Anambra State left behind liabilities.
Alake said the issue had been established by the state’s financial records, although he did not provide details of the records in the statement.
“We again call on Peter Obi to act honourably and honour his earlier pledge to exit the 2027 presidential race if it is proven that his administration left behind liabilities in Anambra State — a fact now clearly established by the state’s financial records,” he said.
Obi, who governed Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, remains a prominent opposition figure and a potential contender in the 2027 presidential election.
