Valentine Obienyem, the media adviser to Peter Obi, has alleged that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) leaked the audio conversation between the Labour Party (LP), presidential candidate in the just concluded February 25 election, and David Oyedepo, founder of Living Faith Church.

“I heard they set up a Committee made up of some Communications experts, headed by our prodigal brother  from Nnewi. They are reviewing all calls Obi made in the last three years, and especially now to see if he mentioned Interim Government or anything that will make them prosecute him for treason when and if they take over,” Mr Obienyem, said on Sunday in a scanty message. 

An audio conversation between Messrs Obi and Oyedepo, where the former was asking for a push – over other candidates – in the concluded election, exclusively published by Peoples Gazette, went viral at the weekend. 

In the recorded conversation, Mr Obi, 61, was heard imploring Mr Oyedepo – believed to be controlling a large section of Christian domination in the country, to speak to his “people” especially those in the North-Central states of Kwara, Kogi and Niger states. 

“This is a religious war”, the LP candidate was heard saying with a sectarian appeal on the clergyman in the telephone leak. 

During the pre-election campaigns, many Nigerians particularly the critics of Mr Obi saw his political movement as that based on “ethnicity and religion”, particularly with his push for votes largely among the Christian communities. 

But in an attempt to defend his principal off the audio leak, Mr Obienyem said the audio conversation was “badly doctored”.

He stressed that both men had also discussed the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket which led to the conversation, adding that Mr Obi had always preached religious balancing before the election. 

“Till now, they are yet to see any. The badly doctored conservation with Bishop Oyedepo released by our Nnewi prodigal brother is the much they have discovered so far. 

“They edited out the Muslim-Muslim ticket that led to the discussion, where Obi said that in a society like ours, religious balancing was a necessary consideration and that their recklessness had made Christians to assume it was a religious war,” he further wrote.