Afenifere Is Frustrated At Loss Of Investment In Peter Obi’s Election – Lai

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has said that the attack on him by pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, is part of the frustration over their loss in the investment they made on the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the February 25 election, Peter Obi.

The minister who reacted to the organisation’s attack in an interview with newsmen today, April 6, in Washington DC, the US, said that the attack on him was borne out of frustration and anger at the loss of their investment in Obi’s election.

Afenifere had berated the minister for condemning Peter Obi for inciting people to violence over the outcome of the February 25 presidential elections.

“It is clear from what they said that Afenifere invested heavily in Peter Obi’s presidency, and they failed woefully; that is the reason why they are lamenting.

“They have refused to get over the loss of what they invested in Obi’s presidential campaign.

“But the earlier they do, the better for them,’’ he said

The minister said that Afenifere had lost its reputation and relevance as the voice of the South-West.

“Fortunate were days when Afenifere sneezed, the whole country would catch a cold. It is not the same thing right now.

“When Afenifere talks and you begin to ask yourself, which Afenifere? You know what that means,’’ he said.

He stressed that there was no provision in INEC laws that allows the Commission to transmit the results of elections electronically.

Lai Mohammed said that the entire process from voting to collation to sorting to tabulation and transmission was manual.

He said that the laws setting up INEC give the Commission the right to determine the mode of elections, the mode of collation and transmission of results.

The minister also responded to a call by a civic organisation, Integrity Group calling for his national apology over the admonition of Obi.

He said the group had failed to understand the position of the Federal Government on the unacceptable postures of the Labour Party presidential candidate

“I said Peter Obi and the Labour Party should stop inciting people to violence since they have submitted themselves to the election tribunal.

“They should stop asking people to go out on the streets, they should stop the reckless statement that if the President-elect is sworn in, it will be the end of democracy,’’ he said.