Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has solicited support for the Lagos State governorship candidate of the party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, in the forthcoming March 18 governorship poll.
Obi who spoke during an interview on a national television on Monday, described the LP candidate as the finest among the contestants for the job.
“The LP candidate in Lagos remains the best and a thorough Lagosian. I support him 100%. He is fantastic.”
On the claims by some critics that the LP candidate had no requisite experience needed to effectively run Lagos, Obi said lack of experience in government do not amount to non-performance.
He argued that himself had to prior experience when he was elected Anambra Governor but that did not stop him from posting remarkable achievements more than those even with the so-called experience.
Obi regretted that most of those who boast of experience only had experience in corruption and stealing public funds, and not a positive experience.
“When I became Governor of Anambra State, I never had any political experience of working in Government but it did not stop me from doing well.
“Those who claim to have experience only have experience in corruption and stealing, and not the positive experience.
“They should cover their faces in shame. You can only claim to have experience if it is in success. They wanted to teach me their wrong experience but I refused. That’s the structure they said I don’t have.
“Sometimes it’s even better to bring somebody without experience to clean up the mess.
“The job of a good leader is always listening, learning and doing the right thing.”
Responding to a question, Obi clarified that as a party man, he supports the LP governorship candidate in Enugu State, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga.
He however, explained that the ‘Obedient Family’ in Enugu some of whom are not even members of Labour Party, still have their right to make their choice of candidate as is the case in Enugu where the ‘Obident Family’ is said to be tilting towards Frank Nweke Junior of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
“As a loyal party man who believes in the party supremacy, I support my party’s candidate. I’m with all my party candidates. But you know some members of Obident Family are not members of our party, and we don’t have control over them.”
Obi proposed a retirement age for politicians, submitting that governance has a lot to do with physical energy.
He argued that if judges and other professionals proceed on retirement at the ripe age of 70, there was nothing strange if old politicians could take the back stage to create space for the younger generation.
Obi debunked the rumour making the rounds that he was part of those behind the Association for Better Nigeria, which supported the annulment of June 12 presidential poll presumably won by Moshood Abiola.
The LP candidate said he was then living in the UK with his family, and was not even really interested in politics.
Obi said that Labour Party national assembly-elects would not be the confusion in the system but be committed to the philosophy of a new Nigeria that brought them on board.
