The Obi-Datti Media Office has said the foreign trips embarked upon by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, were not for fundraising but to sensitize and carry along Nigerians abroad on his upcoming agenda of rebuilding the country.
This was in reaction to a call by the Tinubu-Shettima Connect for the Independent National Electoral Commission to disqualify Obi from the 2023 presidential race for allegedly seeking funds abroad, contrary to the Electoral Law.
In a statement on Sunday, the Obi-Datti Media Office described Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti, as knowledgeable persons who know the law and operate within its ambit and who became what they are financially, politically and socially doing legitimate businesses.
The statement read in part, “Obi’s successful trip abroad which is ostensibly to sensitize and carry along Nigerians abroad on his upcoming agenda of rebuilding the country is open and transparent and not fundraising. But we know why it’s discomforting to some people because they cannot meet Nigerians in the diaspora, knowing that they contributed to their leaving the country in the first place.
“Their own understanding of structure is the abundance of looted funds in their kitty that they plan to deploy on hungry Nigerian voters during the election to sway their votes.
“They know nobody has the kind of stolen funds they have and are always uncomfortable at anything suggesting to them that their opponents could match them. Obi did not go to beg for money but to sell himself and his mission to Nigerians outside the shores who are critical stakeholders in the Nigeria project.
“The Media office, therefore, needs to educate them that Obi and his running mate are knowledgeable duo who know the law and operate within it and who became what they are financially, politically and socially doing legitimate businesses.”
