Obi, who previously ran on the Labour Party (LP) platform during the 2023 race, made the assertion during an Arise News interview, where he also outlined a new governance blueprint. During the discussion, Obi targeted President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its fiscal decisions, labeling its management of an estimated ₦16 trillion in fuel subsidy savings as reckless and detached from the economic hardships, security challenges, and infrastructural deficits facing ordinary citizens. Although official figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) placed him third behind Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, Obi maintained, “I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election”, adding that election records and organizers were aware of what transpired.

In response, APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda—speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki—dismissed the claim as baseless. Tooki questioned the validity of Obi’s statement, pointing out that he lacked party agents across several northern states and asking why INEC never officially declared him the winner. “He should go and prepare for another imminent loss in 2027,” Tooki stated.

Addressing Obi’s critique of the ₦16 trillion subsidy savings, the APC aide defended the federal government’s economic interventions. Tooki urged Obi to evaluate increased federal allocations to state governments, the absence of fuel queues, the frequency of industrial strikes, and the distribution of student loans via NELFUND. Dismissing Obi’s concerns regarding the funds, Tooki remarked, “Does he want the ₦16 trillion to be transported to his bedroom?”

In the counter-affidavit, deposed by APC Director of Legal Services Sanusi Samaila, Tinubu and the APC categorically denied the forgery allegations. They maintained that no forged document was submitted to INEC for either the 2023 or 2027 elections. Samaila emphasized that the NYSC has never disclaimed the certificate in question, and INEC accepted Tinubu’s educational qualifications, subsequently publishing his particulars as the APC candidate.

The defendants further challenged the plaintiffs’ legal standing (locus standi) to question Tinubu’s candidacy. Samaila argued that since neither Atiku nor the ADC were members of the APC or participants in the party’s presidential primary, they have no right to interfere in the party’s internal affairs. He described their suit as a complaint about the nomination process, not a legitimate challenge based on constitutional or Electoral Act breaches.

In a separate written address, counsel for Tinubu and the APC, Akin Olujimi, raised several preliminary objections. He argued that forgery is a criminal allegation requiring proof beyond reasonable doubt, which the plaintiffs failed to provide, notably by lacking a disclaimer from the NYSC. Olujimi also contended that the suit was statute-barred, as it was not filed within the 14-day legal window for challenging the submission of a certificate. Furthermore, he argued the suit was incompetent, as Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act only permits aspirants who participated in a primary to challenge its outcome. He labeled the plaintiffs “mere busybodies” for meddling in another party’s affairs and noted the suit was improperly constituted for failing to join the National Assembly and Attorney-General.

The legal team urged Justice Inyang Ekwo to uphold the preliminary objections and dismiss the suit. The hearing is ongoing at the Federal High Court in Abuja.