By Biodun Emmanuel, The Sight News
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has charged stakeholders from the Northeastern part of the country to vote for politicians they trust, not for tribe or ethnicity in the forthcoming 2023 general election.
Obi, who stated this Monday at the Northeast Stakeholders Interactive Session, with the theme: Good Governance: The Gateway to Secure Our People and the Land”, told the stakeholders that he is not seeking a vote of sympathy to be Nigeria’s President, noting that he is qualified and competent.
He said, “Northeast today is devastated, the only thing sustaining Maiduguri or Borno is a government function, there is no business and it’s affecting safety in other states, safety in Yobe state and Bauchi state.
“I am pleading it should not be by tribe, let nobody tell you it is about religion there is no place anybody buys bread cheaper by his own religion. You are from the Northeast, is there any place where you buy bread cheaper?
“Today we have 35% of unemployment in a country of 200 million people, youth unemployment is nearly 60%, so we have millions of youth in their productive age doing nothing, not knowing where the next meal will come from; with that situation you are going to have a crisis, the crisis of insecurity, the crisis of banditry, the crisis of kidnapping.
“What I and Datti are promising you, is that we have the best combination. Best experience to start tackling issues of security, and I will tell you those responsible, let nobody tell you we cannot solve insecurity in Nigeria it can be stopped and done very quickly”, he said.
Furthermore, Obi promised to reunite Nigeria, so that Nigerians can be proud of their country, adding that he is going to turn Nigeria from being a consumption country into a productive country, “When you do that you are pulling people out of poverty”.
According to him, “All of us will tell you good stories like I am telling you now, but who can we trust? It’s a question of trust. Just listen to all of us and ask questions if anybody says he is going to fight corruption like I am going to tell you and return Nigeria to physical viability.
“I am not running like somebody from the Southeast. Don’t vote for me for that, I am not looking for sympathy. I am running because I am qualified and most competent.
“All the four of us who they say are major candidates, go and check out my background, I am an exceptional businessman. I have managed Corporations, so I have experience of what it takes to run an economy and among them I am the youngest. This position requires physical and mental energy”, he remarked.
Speaking further, he noted that the 2023 election will be based on a character that can be trusted, on competence, capacity and capability to do the work, and on commitment.
“I want Nigeria to hold me responsible. I want to be the man who started building the new Nigeria, and I will build it”, he said.
