In a telephone conversation leaked to Peoples Gazette, Peter Obi begged Bishop David Oyedepo to help canvass Christian votes on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential election.

Religion became central to the campaign after Bola Tinubu tapped a fellow Muslim running mate in a nation widely deemed evenly split between Christians and Muslims.

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Obi, in last-minute push for votes, begs Bishop Oyedepo to help win 2023 ‘religious war’

As Nigerians prepared to head to the polls and tension peaked among politicians, Peter Gregory Obi, a major presidential candidate, mustered Christian leaders to ramp up a sectarian appeal to push him over the line, Peoples Gazette heard from a leaked conversation.

Mr Obi, the Labour Party’s standard-bearer, saw the February 25, 2023, exercise as a battle to assert the place of Christians in the country, bootstrapping his candidacy out of a polarised cycle set off by Bola Tinubu’s religiously-tinged Muslim-Muslim nomination. The election was largely a three-way race between Messrs Obi, Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president who ran again on the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party line.

Mr Obi, 61, called Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel) on the eve of the election and implored him to pass messages to Christians across the South-West — and also to those in central states like Kwara, Kogi and Niger.

“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara,” Mr Obi said in the audio obtained by The Gazette. “This is a religious war.”

“I believe that, I believe that, I believe that,” Mr Oyedepo said.

“Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support,” Mr Obi said with candour, adding that Christians in places like Kogi, Kwara and Niger have been difficult to penetrate.

“We look forward to God’s intervention,” Mr Oyedepo said, promising to circulate more messages to Christians on Mr Obi’s behalf.

For two days, Mr Obi did not attend to The Gazette’s calls and messages to his two available telephone lines. His media aides and allies, including Akin Osuntokun, Valentine Obienyem and Mike Ifedi, all declined comments when The Gazette sent an enquiry to them with the full audio.

Mr Ifedi said he was trying to discuss the audio with Mr Obi for a measured response, but his message did not come in before a final decision was taken to run this story.

Mr Oyedepo asked The Gazette to forward an enquiry to him by WhatsApp, but he declined comments for more than a day after messages and the audio were sent to him.

Reinaldo:
Fake audio

kcnwaigbo:
What exactly is wrong with the request?.

I think the anomaly here should be the leaking of a very private phone conversation.
Oyedepo never made secret his support for Peter Obi

trutharena:


Lol 😂

Fake from Gazette?

trutharena:


It is wrong because Obi is a liar. In secret, he was busy telling Bishop Oyedepo to canvass for Christian SW votes while he comes in the open to lie that he did not run a religious bigoted campaign.

trutharena:


Lol 😂

Fake from Gazette?

AcuraZDX:


Yes from a Cornfused fellow like you anf bitter bigot like you.

You guys propaganda na ontop am I go dey sitdon

trutharena:


It is wrong because Obi is a liar. In secret, he was busy telling Bishop Oyedepo to canvass for Christian SW votes while he comes in the open to lie that he did not run a religious bigoted campaign.

That you guys don’t see anything wrong in this says so much about your hypocrisy.

That Obi guy busy trying to divide the SW along religious line with his treacherous campaign.

trutharena:


How is it propaganda?

raskymonojendor:
Peter Obi is just disgusting.

Golan007:
With this Audio - Obi can never be president of Nigeria.

Those that are wise would understand what I mean.

AcuraZDX:


It's really disturbing to see so called sophisticated people whyning like earthworm.

AcuraZDX:


But with Tinubu's drug case he can be President?

Sophisticated tribe indeed.

kcnwaigbo:

You should have been a comedian.

Goke7:
Oyedepo had better be careful, it's obvious he's the target here. Obi we already know who he is.

raskymonojendor:
Peter Obi is just disgusting.

RockHard:
Omo, Nigeria dodged a bullet by not electing this guy as president coz he definitely would have stirred ethno-religious war that would've set this country on fire. Peter Obi is undoubtedly a religious bigot.