The statement issued by Onanuga noted that there is evidence of electoral violations against Mr Obi's party in the South-East. He said, "We welcome the decision of Mr Obi to seek redress in court as an aggrieved party if he is convinced of the evidence of electoral fraud he will present before the tribunal as alleged. Going to court is part of the electoral process and is the most decent, statesmanlike, and civilized course of action to take."
Onanuga further stated that going to court is better than calling supporters to the streets and instigating social unrest. However, he challenged some specific claims made by Obi in his press conference. He noted that contrary to Obi's statement, the election was free and fair. He added that the process was credible, which made it possible for Obi's Labour Party to record over six million votes, contrary to pre-election forecasts.
Onanuga highlighted that the Labour Party surprised bookmakers by winning in Lagos, Nasarawa, Plateau, Delta, and Edo states where there are sitting governors of either the APC or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The statement also noted that the Labour Party swept the five South-East states under the control of either APGA, PDP or APC.
"We believe that the Labour Party presidential candidate contradicted himself and exposed himself by suggesting that the election was only credible in states and places his party won. We need to forewarn Obi, that when he gets to court, he should be prepared to tell the world how his party won over 90 per cent of votes in his region of South-East while other parties got almost nothing," Onanuga stressed. "We have evidence of voters' suppression, intimidation and harassment in South-East, especially of those who came out to vote for our party."
He further pointed out that Mr Obi did not win the presidential election, adding that he had no path to winning a national election in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society like Nigeria, where a candidate running in a national election must appeal to the cross-section of the country's pluralistic society.