Supporters of Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the last presidential election, were served sour grapes following the absence of the so-called Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was purportedly contracted by ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo to defend Obi’s challenge at the presidential election petition tribunal in court today.
Obidients, as the supporters are known, had previously boasted of the purported lawyer’s triumphant arrival and Obasanjo’s ‘settled deal’ with her to hand Obi victory via the courts, despite finishing in third position. In a characteristic manner, they rejected clarifications that the report was sketchy and lacked verifiable details, insisting instead that her imminent arrival had driven panic into the opposition.
However, as proceedings opened today, Obi was at the mercy of the likes of Kenneth Okonkwo, the Nollywood actor who was earlier suspended by a faction of the Labour Party, with Natalia Veselnitskaya nowhere to be found.
As soon as reality dawned on the supporters that there was no legal armada arriving from Russia or any other part of Europe, they came on Twitter and other social media platforms to express regrets and pessimism about the chances of Obi making headway with his petition.
The cold feet was further induced by reports that the Action Alliance and the Action People’s Party both withdrew their petition against Tinubu’s victory, likely due to admittance that there was no ground for the cancellation of the results and that the winner merited the victory.