Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign, has confirmed the authenticity of an audio of a phone conversation between his principal, Peter Obi and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church.

In the audio which was released by an online newspaper, Peoples Gazette, Obi solicited the support of Oyedepo to help get votes from Christians in South-West.

The former governor of Anambra State also stated that the votes were needed because the 2023 presidential election was a religious war.

“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara.This is a religious war. Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support,” he said in the audio.

The audio had attracted criticism for Obi, with some of his supporters saying it was doctored.

But in a statement in the wee hours of Sunday, Okonkwo verified the authenticity but claimed it was taken out of context by critics.

He wrote: “Our attention has been drawn to the publication of this audio tape of private conversation between @PeterObi and Bishop Oyedepo. It is not surprising that these political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if Obi was making a religious statement.

Firstly, the context of the conversation was aptly put by Bishop Oyedepo when he said “All Nigerians have equal stake in this nation, nobody has the right to claim that he is dashing something to someone”. Peter Obi was simply urging the Bishop to help him push this message of equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project to his people and the Christiendom because the politicians of the other party is carrying on this campaign as if it is a religious war. To drive home this point, he informed him that he visited the traditional ruler of Offa, the Olofa of Offa, who is a Muslim, but who advised Obi to get the support of Oyedepo and be assured of his own support.

“No Politician has ever visited the Olofa of Offa. It is clear to everybody that the APC political party that has a Presidential Candidate, Vice Presidential Candidate, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Chairman of the Party all from one religion at a time the CJN is a Muslim is the Party that has declared religious war on Nigerians and we must all rise up together to fight this unconstitutional act of religious intolerance of other religions by APC.

“I went around with Obi on campaign train and never saw him discriminate against any religion. Of course he can’t because his Vice is a Muslim unlike APC. I resigned from APC because of their religious intolerance. Nigerians should disregard any insinuation of religious bigots about this tape.”

Earlier, Director General of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation, Balogun Akin Osuntokun, told Daily Trust on Saturday that he had nothing to say on the matter.

“I have nothing to say on this,” Osuntokun said when contacted over the phone.