The presidential candidate of Labor Party (LP) Peter Obi has said that the party and its gubernatorial candidate in the recently concluded Osun state election fought hard despite the result of the exercise.
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election held on Saturday in the state.
Adeleke garnered 403,371 votes to defeat her closest opponent and current state governor, Gboyega Oyetola of the Congress of all progressiveswhich obtained 375,027 votes.
Yussuff Lasun, the LP candidate, came in a distant fifth with 2,729 votes, representing about 0.34 percent of the total valid votes, according to results released by INEC.
But the LP’s presidential candidate said the party fought hard in the exercise despite poor results.
“I congratulate our @NgLabour candidate, Rt. Hon. Lasun Sulaimon Yussuff and his running mate, Adeola Adekunle Atanda, for a close battle and their spirit of determination and sportsmanship, despite the result,” Obi said through his account. verified. twitter handle on Sunday.
‘Result, not verdict on presidential ambition’
The LP presidential candidate was quick to assure his many supporters that the result of Osun’s election was not a verdict on his “growing strength” and chance of winning the next presidential election in 2023.
Obi said that since he only joined the party a month ago, his supporters should not worry about the outcome of the exercise, as they were up against “forces that had entrenched themselves” in the state for the last two decades.
“For the Obidient Movement Family and our supporters across the country, the outcome of this particular election is not a verdict on our exponentially growing strength across the country, especially when compared to the fact that we barely have a month at the match.
“Yet within this very short period of just a few weeks, the Labor Party has made its presence and political impact felt nationally,” he added.
However, the former Governor of Anambra State congratulated the PDP candidate, Mr. Adeleke, for winning the election.
He urged his supporters not to give in but to strengthen their resolve and also focus their efforts on the 2023 presidential election.
“In the fullness of time, our message of rescue and recovery will resonate across the nation and the majority of the Nigerian electorate will embrace our mission to take back Nigeria, to rescue it from continued decline, to change the national course psyche from consumption to production and from sharing increasingly scarce resources to creating wealth and combating poverty head-on”, he stated.