Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has maintained that he does not need more than four years to fix Nigeria and therefore would be content to spend just one term as President to put it on the track to growth and development.
In fact, he said he only needed a period of just two years to stabilise the country from the wave of economic stagnation and distabilisation, security crises and social injustice, currently plaguing it due to poor leadership responsible for the lack of growth and positive development over the years.
Ibrahim Umar, spokesman of the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), who conveyed the position of the former Governor of Anambra State, in a statement from Abuja, on Monday, quoted him as saying Sunday night, when he appeared on X space to answer questions from his numerous supporters that Nigeria had remained in its current prostrate state due to poor leadership.
Obi, who acknowledged being involved in the ongoing coalition talks with prominent Nigerian politicians, including Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, with whom he paired in 2019 as Vice Presidential candidate, was quoted as saying: “I believe in rotation of government between North and South I implemented it Anambra as a governor. If there is any form of agreement that will restrict me to four years in office, I will comply with the agreement and be ready to leave office by 28th May, 2031. I will bring stability in Nigeria within two years in office.
However he left a caveat on the issue of coalition, saying: “If the coalition is not about stopping the killings in Benue, Zamfara, how to revive our economy, how to make our industries productive, how to put food on the tables of Nigerians… Count me out. Nigeria is currently at war.
“We need to do something about it. I urge Nigerians to see the need to rescue this country with me. I will bring stability in Nigeria within two years in office. Leaders of Nigeria should sit down in Nigeria and fix Nigeria.”
Regarding the nebulous situation of affairs at the LP, the platform on which he prosecuted the last election, he explained that he and several party leaders were working round the clock to get the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to endorse the Nenadi Usman as the Acting National Chairman of the party, based on the Supreme Court ruling.
Obi, who had in a separate statement, lampooned President Bola Tinubu’s current visit to St Lucia, stressed his position, saying: “In two years, Tinubu has not spent one night in any state in Nigeria apart from Lagos, yet he is going to spend eight nights in St Lucia, a place smaller than Ajegunle.
“St Lucia is about the size of the 10th largest city of Nigeria, Ilorin. President Tinubu has never slept a night in any state of Nigeria outside Lagos since the assumption of office in 2023. PBAT to stay in St Lucia for 10 days.”
To his numerous supporters, he assured that the next presidential election in 2027 would be different from that of 2023, where he claimed that he was massively rigged out, adding: “We will do things differently in 2027. We will follow a non-violent approach and insist that the right thing will be done before the result announcement in Abuja. Our votes in 2027 will count, and we will ensure they count.
“Three things to follow up with in the first 100 days… prioritise on security, education and poverty eradication; cut costs and shun corruption. My family will not be involved in corruption. Funds to be channelled into key critical sectors.
“My Presidency will ensure there is a strong opposition in party politics. There will be no defection of elected officials to other parties when I am in charge.
“Imagine in this country, People are dying in Benue, Borno, [and other parts of the country], and our leaders are commissioning Bus Stops and holidaying.
“To bring order in governance, I will prioritise security, education and pulling people out of poverty. To do this is by cutting the cost of governance and fighting corruption from day one.
“My past speaks loudly for me. Wherever there was an issue in Anambra State, I was there physically. Anybody who wants to serve should be ready to put even their life on the line for the lives of Nigerians. Nobody abroad takes you seriously if you don’t have a stable government.”
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