Fayose: Obi came like hurricane — he did what had never been done in Nigerian politics

Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti state, has described Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), as a “hurricane” who changed the landscape of Nigerian politics.

Fayose spoke in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday.

Polling 6,101,533 votes, Obi was third in the February 25 presidential election won by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The LP candidate won 12 states — the same amount as the other two top contenders — and scored 25 percent of votes in 16 states.

Many candidates for elective positions also aligned with the ‘Obidient’ movement across the country while the LP secured its highest-ever national assembly seats.

Speaking on the performance of the former Anambra governor, Fayose praised Obi as “a man that turned around most of the things in our country”.

He added that Obi “exposed so many things” about Nigeria’s electoral process.

“Obi was a man that turned around most of the things in our country. He exposed so many things. Obi came like a hurricane and did what no one had done,” Fayose said.

“I’m not going to come out and condemn anybody. They have gone to court. Then let the court do justice in the matter.

“Lastly, let me join you and everybody in condemning what is not right like the physical attacks on a number of people. But we need to understand that nobody is innocent in this circumstance.”

Obi, alongside Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had filed petitions challenging the victory of Tinubu.

Fayose disagreed with the petitions and said Tinubu won the election “fair and square”.

The former governor added that the president-elect will do everything to ensure he retains his mandate.