Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, has denied instigating protests in Nigeria in response to the results of the presidential elections on February 25.
The accusation was made on Tuesday by Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture.
He argued that it was improper for Obi to simultaneously call for a legal challenge of the election results and promote violence.
Peter Obi responded by claiming that several campaigns of slander have been launched against him in recent days in a message posted on his Twitter profile on Tuesday.
Obi claimed that Lai Mohammed's claim that he is inciting an uprising was completely false and malicious.
In a tweet, Obi stated: "I have always advocated for peace and issue-based campaigns, and I have never run for office on the basis of my ethnicity or faith. I believe in the value of due process, thus I'm currently asking the court for justice.
"I kindly request everyone involved in this demarketing exercise to refrain from portraying Nigeria in such a negative way."
He went on to say that Nigerians deserved a brand-new nation where they could have a safe and respectable existence similar to that of people in other countries.