"We must put Nigeria first. Nigeria is more important than anybody."
A House of Representatives member, Amobi Ogah, has asked the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as well as other parties' candidates, to support President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Ogah, an LP lawmaker, represents Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in Abia State.
He stated this while speaking with reporters in Abuja. A video clip by Channels TV showed the lawmaker making the statement.
It appears Mr Ogah commented on Monday.
"Once you are in this politics, don't lose hope. Don't think that if you don't win today, you will not win again. And once somebody has won an election, to be a good sportsman, you must give the person support," Mr Ogah said.
Although the lawmaker did not mention any name, some believe he was specifically referring to Mr Obi, who lost his presidential bid to Mr Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 25 February general election.
Like others, Mr Obi is currently challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.
But Mr Ogar said Mr Tinubu deserves to be respected and supported until the court delivers judgment against his election.
"For me, like I said earlier last week, that trended all over the world when I told the people, the election has come and gone. Now it is about governance. And whoever God has given that mandate to represent the people, you must respect that institution
"And that is why I always say, whoever that is on that seat, give the person that support until either court says otherwise or God says otherwise," he stated.
"We must put Nigeria first. Nigeria is more important than anybody. It is more important than me. I can tell you it is only God that gives power."
Not the first time
This is not the first time Mr Ogah would be expressing support for Mr Tinubu.
The lawmaker, on 8 June, praised Mr Tinubu for being "so intelligent" after he and other members-elect of the 10th National Assembly met with the president at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The lawmaker further pledged his support for Mr Tinubu's administration.
"Today is my best day. Today, I'm so happy that I am an elected member seeing my president talking. In fact, I've never known that this man is so intelligent," Mr Ogah had said of Mr Tinubu.
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"We have agreed that we are going towards a government decision, not minding I am of the Labour Party. Now the party is not the issue. We are talking about building Nigeria" he added.
The national leadership of the LP would later kick against Mr Ogah's comments, saying the party has a contrary view to what the lawmaker said.
"As an individual, he does not have the mandate to speak for the party and therefore cannot claim to be standing on the platform of the Labour Party to do the same, giving views that are diametrically opposed to what the Labour party stands for," the party said in a statement by its national spokesperson, Obiorah Ifoh.
The statement, however, claimed that the lawmaker had apologised to the party for the comments.
Sanction likely?
It is not clear if the LP leadership would sanction Mr Ogah for his latest comment.
There are speculations that Mr Ogah was considering a switch to the APC, but PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the claim.
The lawmaker is a younger brother to a former Nigeria's minister of state for mines and steel development and former 2023 APC governorship candidate in Abia State, Uche Ogah, although he was later sacked as the party's candidate by court shortly before the general election.
