Akin Osuntokun, a prominent figure in the Labour Party, has come to the defense of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu amidst speculations that Tinubu might pursue Peter Obi and certain members of the opposition party following the aftermath of the 2023 general elections. Osuntokun, who previously served as the Director-General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council in the last election, shared his perspective on these developments.
In the wake of the contested February 25th presidential election, Labour Party candidate Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had taken legal action against Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the commission declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as the winner. However, their pleas were dismissed by the Supreme Court for lacking merit.
Responding to the claims raised by LP National Chairman Julius Abure about Tinubu’s potential actions against Obi and opposition members, Osuntokun expressed a differing view. He remarked, “Regardless of one’s opinion about Tinubu, it’s unjust to suggest he would pursue anyone. From my understanding of him, he isn’t that sort of person. He doesn’t hold grudges; that’s one of his strengths. People who previously crossed paths with him in Lagos are now aligned with him. Regardless of any reservations, that isn’t his character. This approach has contributed significantly to his political career. However, that’s my personal assessment.”
Regarding the influence of money in the 2023 elections, Osuntokun acknowledged the prevalence of monetary politics. He asserted, “Certainly, it’s evident, isn’t it? When asked, they admit it. The commercialization of politics is akin to corruption, labeled as grand games or political structures. That’s the reality. Forget the results INEC announced. I can confidently state that the majority of votes were in favor of Obi. It’s a commendable achievement as people rallied to vote. Yet, we couldn’t oversee votes in many places where we lacked agents. Despite that, party members acted as agents independently and monitored activities nationwide.”
On whether LP’s over-reliance on INEC led to their downfall, Osuntokun responded, “We had no other viable choice. It wasn’t as though we explicitly trusted INEC. I’m not surprised by their actions. The only difference was the BVAS, making it challenging to manipulate figures. It precisely reports the number of accredited voters.”
He further explained, “Manipulation and rigging were limited to playing with these numbers. In the past, inflating figures was possible. However, the BVAS has made that impossible. So, tactics changed to shifting votes. In instances like Port Harcourt, they deducted from Labour’s count and added it to APC’s tally. Previously, they could inflate numbers, but that’s no longer feasible. They now maneuver within the confines of existing figures.”
