Our Reporter, Lagos
One of the presidential aspirants under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi, on Monday assured that an Igbo presidency come year 2023 will both unite as well as rebuild the Nigerian nation.
Obi spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, while addressing leaders and members of PDP at the party’s State Secretariat in Magbon area of Abeokuta metropolis when his presidential consultation team visited the state to canvass their support for his ambition.
The highly optimistic Obi expressly declared that the South-eastern zone of Nigeria should be allowed to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in the interest of equity, justice, fairness and inclusiveness.
The former governor of Anambra State lamented the persistent agitations in the South-East, South-West and almost in the whole of the North, submitting that they are the cumulative effects of leadership failure over the past years.
He appealed to the Ogun State PDP to support his aspiration to contest for the president of the country, saying his impressive performance as governor for eight years placed him in a better position to lead the country to greatness.
He recalled that he left office in Anambra State without owing workers salary, people’s gratuities and pensions, expressing the concern that the nation’s youth population are unemployed and underemployed while over 10 million Nigerian children of school age are out of school roaming around.
“Let me assure you that my commitment is to give a better Nigeria. My expression is to see Nigeria better than what it is today, it is, however, left for the people to see into it and say this is the way to go so that we can build a better Nigeria. We cannot continue with the way Nigeria is today.”
When asked to comment as to whether the South-East geopolitical zone will likely give way to a consensus candidate, Obi said all that mattered to the region is to have an opportunity to change the country for better.
“What we want to say is that a nation must be built on fairness, equity and respect for each other. And we in the South-East are saying that we too should be given the opportunity to serve, and I want to assure you that such opportunity, if given, will change Nigeria for the better.”
