Mr Obi says outcome of Osun election not a verdict on his presidential ambition.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has said the party and its governorship candidate in the just concluded Osun State election fought hard despite the outcome 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.
Mr Adeleke polled 403,371 votes to defeat his closest opponent and incumbent governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 375,027 votes.
Yussuff Lasun, the LP candidate, came a distant fifth with 2,729 votes, representing about 0.34 per cent of the total valid votes, according to the results released by INEC.
But the LP presidential candidate said the party fought hard in the exercise despite the poor results.
"I congratulate the candidate of our @NgLabour, Rt. Hon. Lasun Sulaimon Yussuff and his running mate, Adeola Adekunle Atanda, for a hard-fought battle and their spirit of resolve and sportsmanship, despite the outcome," Mr Obi said via his verified Twitter handle on Sunday.
'Outcome not verdict on presidential ambition'
The LP presidential candidate was quick to assure his teeming supporters that the outcome of the Osun election was not a verdict on his "growing strength" and prospect of winning the forthcoming presidential election in 2023.
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Mr Obi said given that it was barely one month he joined the party, his supporters should not be disturbed by the outcome of the exercise considering that they contended with "forces that had been entrenched" in the state for the last two decades.
"To the Obidient Movement Family and our supporters nationwide, the outcome of this particular election is not a verdict on our exponential growing strength nationwide, especially when viewed against the fact that we are barely one month old in the party.
"However, within this very short period of only a few weeks, the Labour Party has made its presence and political impact felt nationally," he added.
The former governor of Anambra State, however, congratulated the PDP candidate, Mr Adeleke, for winning the election.
He urged his supporters not to relent but strengthen their resolve and also focus their efforts on the 2023 presidential elections.
"In the fullness of time, our message of rescue and recovery will resonate throughout the length and breadth of the nation and most Nigerian electorate will buy into our mission to take back Nigeria, for the purpose of rescuing it from continued decline, shift the national psyche from consumption to production and from sharing dwindling resources to creating wealth and frontally combating poverty," he stated.
