The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, says he is still committed to building a new Nigeria in spite of the Supreme Court  ruling on the 2023 Presidential Election, which is not in his favour.
Obi said this when he addressed a  news conference on  Monday in Abuja.
He expressed disappointment over the ruling, saying however, that he remained committed to building    a   nation   anchored   on   the   principles   of prudent management  of  resources.
He said that  his commitment  was to also   ensure  transparency   and accountability   and    equitable   distribution   of   opportunities, resources, and privileges in the country.
“As  someone who has previously benefited from the rulings of the Supreme Court on electoral matters, I have after a period of deep and sober reflection, decided to personally and formally react to the recent judgment as most Nigerians have.
“This is because we are confronted with   very   weighty   issues   of   national   interest,” he said.
Obi said that he  disagreed  very strongly with the ruling of both the Presidential  Election Petitions Court (PEPC) and the Supreme Court on the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election as declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“However ,as democrats who believe in the rule of law, we recognise that the Supreme Court is the end stage of the quest for legal closure to the matter.
“As a party and as candidates, Datti and I have now exhausted all legal and constitutional remedies available to us.
“However, this end is only another beginning in our quest for the vindication of the hope of the common man for a better country.
“After all, sovereignty belongs to the people! If only for historical purposes, it behooves us to place our disagreement with and deep reservations about this judgment on public record,” he said.

Obi added: ”Where the value and import of the recent Supreme Court ruling ends   is   where  my   commitment   to   a   new   Nigeria   begins.
“Our mission and mandate remain unchanged. From the very onset, our mission has been more about enthroning a new Nigeria.
“It is a new nation where things work, where the country is led from its present waste and consumption orientation to a production-driven economy.
“In  the new Nigeria, the  aim  is to address all unmet needs by showing compassion for all those left behind by the present system.”
“Going   forward,   we at  the   LP  and   the   Obidient Movement are now effectively in opposition. We are glad that the nation   has   heard   us   loud   and   clear.
“We   shall   now   expand   the confines of our message of hope to the rest of the country. We shall meet the people in the places where they feel pain and answer their needs  for hope.
“At marketplaces,  motor parks, town halls, board rooms,   and   university   and   college   campuses,   we   all   carry   and deliver the message of a new Nigeria”.
Obi  said that  as stakeholders and elected LP officials, they plan to remain loyal to the party’s manifesto.
“Given our present national circumstances, there is a compelling need for   a   strong   political   opposition.
“We   shall,   therefore,   remain   in opposition,   especially   because   of   the   policies   and   the   governance modalities   that   we   in   the   Labour   Party   campaigned   for.
“These   includes especially reducing the cost of governance, moving the nation from consumption to production, reducing inflation, ending insecurity, promoting the rule of law,   guaranteeing   the   responsibility   to   protect,   and   stabilising   the Nigerian   currency.
“These  are   clearly   not   the   priorities   of   the   present administration nor is it interested in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said.
Obi said that  one thing that had gladdened his  heart in the course of the struggle of the past 18 months, was  the passionate desire of people, especially young people from across ethnic and religious divides.
He said that their desire was to construct a new and restructured Nigeria that would  work for all Nigerians and that goal remained his guiding light and abiding inspiration.(NAN)