- Peter Obi clarifies that the reported N744.5 million expenditure on election litigation includes various legal services-related expenses
- The expenditure encompasses research, accommodations, transportation, flights, stationery, expert witnesses, and support for candidates facing legal challenges
Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, clarified that the reported expenditure of N744,500,000 on election litigation did not solely cover payments to lawyers, as some reports suggested.
In a statement released on Thursday, signed by Dr. Yunusa Tanko, the chief spokesman of the Obi-Datti Campaign Committee, Obi explained that the N744.5 million constituted a comprehensive expenditure on legal services. This encompassed various expenses such as research, accommodations, transportation, local and international flights, and stationery for documentation.
“We seek to provide clarity to the public on this matter, emphasizing that it includes all aspects related to our legal proceedings, from pre-election to post-election legal processes,” he stated.
Obi highlighted that the expenditure covered various activities, including filing cases before elections, managing legal documents, arranging for expert witnesses from overseas during post-election legal battles, and covering their accommodations. Additionally, funds were allocated to send lawyers to states to collect electoral materials from INEC state offices and provide financial support to party candidates facing legal challenges.
“We want to ensure transparency regarding our legal expenses and clarify that it goes beyond lawyer fees to encompass various necessary expenditures incurred throughout our legal battles,” Obi concluded.