Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi yesterday vowed to challenge the outcome of the election in court.
He said he would resist pressure by anybody to abandon his quest to seek redress in court.
The Anamabra State former governor said the election was not free and fair.
He called on Nigerians and his supporters to be law abiding, adding that they should not indulge in violence.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was declared winner of the election by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu.
Tinubu polled 8.8 million votes to defeat his closest rivals – Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Obi of LP and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).
Atiku polled 6,984,520; Obi garnered 6,101,533 votes while Kwankwaso polled 1,476,697.
An emotional Obi told reporters in Abuja that he would reclaim his mandate.
The LP candidate said the poll election would go down as the most controversial in the history of Nigeria.
Obi, who made his first public appearance since the elections, insisted that the battle will shift to the court.
He also berated INEC for conducting the “worst elections in Nigeria’s history”, which he said, fell below the minimum standards.
He said the judiciary will do justice, recalling that he was one of the beneficiaries of the judiciary, having reclaimed his stolen mandates through the court.
Obi explained that the meeting with the PDP and other parties was not a merger but an exchange of ideas on a way forward in national interest.
Obi said: “We won the election. We will explore all legal action to reclaim our mandate. Nigeria cannot conduct an election 63 years after independence and it will be like this.
“It is a clear violation of the electoral rule and guidelines that we were assured of.
“It will go down as the most controversial election ever conducted in Nigeria. Let me appeal to all Nigerians to remain peaceful and humble. I assure you that this is not the end, but the beginning of a journey for a better and a new Nigeria.
“We want a New Nigeria built on honesty, fairness and justice. We will do the right thing to gather confidence to lead. Leaders should not act rascally and deliberately discard the rule of law.
“We insisted that we will be governed by the rule of law. We will explore all legal action to reclaim our mandate. We won the election. We will build a country.
“Myself and Datti are committed to a new Nigeria. I don’t know how they feel now, but the unwanted attacks showed that a new Nigeria was possible. seeing Jenifer who was attacked but ensured she voted.”
Obi said he was not in alliance with any political party.
He said: “We are not in talk with other parties. We are meeting as aggrieved parties. If we use the process we used today in the election, how are we going to arrest the kidnappers? On this issue, I am challenging the process.”