JUST IN: I never said I’m looking forward to contest in 2027 — Peter Obi

Mr Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate, Labour Party in the 2023 elections has dismissed media reports that he said he is looking forward to run for office in the 2027 presidential elections.

The presidential candidate also denied commenting on appointees of the Federal Government.

Obi, who is also a former governor of Anambra, made this known in a statement on his official Twitter handle in Lagos on Saturday.

The presidential candidate described both reports as bogus, regretting that Nigerian politics had sunken to the level where manipulation of the media space was now a trade.

He said: “I have noticed with dismay, an emerging pattern, where fake media reports and news items are predicated on interviews and press remarks I never granted.

“Two recent instances relating to my saying that I am looking forward to running for office in 2027 on a supposed Arise TV interview.

“This never took place and the other, about my reaction to prospective appointees into the current Federal Government,” he said.

The presidential candidate said he would not allow fake news to distract his focus for a new Nigeria which he insisted, was possible.

Obi said his focus and that of the ‘Obidient’ Movement that he leads, would not derail from the original mission of creating a new Nigeria which they believed was possible.

He said for him, he would continue to speak on topical national issues via recognised news and media outfits but certainly would not concern himself with cheap distraction.

Obi also said the focus of his followers had never been on political appointments and positions.

“Our emphasis has never been on political positions or personal aggrandisement but on putting the nation on the right footing and deepening our democracy by helping to elevate and empower the downtrodden in our society.”

Obi so aid that was the reason their messages during the electioneering campaigns were all issue-driven. (NAN)