The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to open up on links to drug dealings.
It was reported that some documents were said to have been released by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois which allegedly indicted Tinubu in drug dealings and money laundering in Chicago.
The documents which went viral on Tuesday evening, revealed details on Tinubu’s alleged indictment in drug deals and receipt of illegal money while in the U.S.
The 56-page document released showed the long-held view that Tinubu faced conviction on narcotics charges in the US especially with the revelation that he forfeited up to $460,000 to the U.S. authorities in 1993.
Reacting in a statement through the Obi-Datti Media Office, Peter Obi asked Tinubu to come clean on his past, engage Nigerians or quit, because the office he seeks to occupy requires a man who should be clean in all ramifications.
According to Obi, Tinubu must stop indulging in proxy game about his past, ostensibly to deny Nigerians the opportunity of knowing exactly the person aspiring to be president.
The statement read: “What has made the Obi-Datti Media Office more curious is the continued refusal of the APC candidate to present himself for scrutiny by Nigerians, dodging every public and media interaction and using spokespersons and attack dogs to reach Nigerians and cover up his dirty tracks.
“Rather than be ashmed of the embarrassing situation, Tinubu Campaign office is arrogantly and fraudulently covering up and scheming to pick and chose the public events to attend.
“It’s not enough to release a document as manifesto but not be available to defend and explain how you intend to carry out the implementations of the manifesto since spokespersons are not going to be on the ballot.
“If Tinubu truly had any record of narcotics and money laundering case arising from drug related businesses at any stage in his life, he must explain himself to Nigerians.
“And if he hid his past to Nigerians and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, necessary steps should be taken by relevant authorities to save the country from such a person having access to power at the highest office in the land.”
2022 Electoral Act
The LP presidential candidate Media Office noted that there is a column in INEC form to candidates seeking to know if they had ever been convicted by any court of law anywhere in the world and that withholding such information breaches the 2022 Electoral Act (as amended).
They noted that Nigerians expect the Electoral Commission to demand a convincing response from the APC presidential candidate and to act on it accordingly without let or hindrance
“Following the successive failure of governance in our country over time, the Electoral Commission and indeed the entire Nigerian populace should show more than passing interest in the backgrounds of all those aspiring to rule this country.
“It’s against this backdrop that we totally align our position with that of our Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi that candidacy by proxy must be rejected since the buck stops on the table of the person being elected not spokespersons or attack dogs,” the statement said.
Peter Obi’s Office demanded that if Tinubu is not ready and willing to subject himself to the scrutiny required of anybody seeking to occupy the number one job in the land, he should quit.
