Obi Blames Leadership for Refinery Crisis

• Kwankwaso: Nigerians mustn’t make mistake again in 2027 

•Lulu-Briggs: A new Rivers is coming

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has attributed the decay in Nigeria’s critical infrastructure and public institutions, including the country’s refineries, to what he described as years of bad leadership and poor management of national resources.

Obi, who spoke at an NDC town hall meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said Nigeria’s refineries would work if the country had competent, committed and accountable leadership, insisting that the problems confronting the country were products of leadership failure rather than a lack of resources.

“Somebody asked about the refinery being bad. Let me tell you, our refinery is bad, because our leadership is bad. If you don’t know, know it,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor cited the decline of the Nigeria National Shipping Line and Nigerian Airways as examples of institutions that once had substantial assets but had collapsed over the years.

He contrasted Nigeria’s experience with that of countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, arguing that deliberate investment in education, production, small businesses, healthcare and agriculture had enabled those countries to achieve significant economic progress.

According to him, Nigeria must urgently move from a consumption-driven economy to one based on production, stressing that job creation would remain difficult unless the country produced what it consumed.

Obi also promised to prioritise healthcare, education and poverty reduction if elected president, while pledging greater support for small and medium-sized businesses through training, access to assets and affordable financing.

He said the government must also tackle insecurity by addressing poverty and returning farmers to their farms, particularly in northern Nigeria.

“Insecurity in the north will be fought in two ways. First, you have to do to women insecurity. There’s poverty in Nigeria. It’s difficult to fight insecurity when there’s poverty,” he said.

Earlier, the NDC vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, urged Nigerians to use the 2027 election to effect a change in leadership, saying the country could no longer afford another mistake.

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, said the NDC had the capacity and blueprint to provide quality education, jobs, electricity, water, roads and other basic infrastructure.

He urged Nigerians to register with the party, protect their Permanent Voter Cards and vote for the NDC ticket on January 16, 2027.

In his closing remarks, NDC governorship candidate in Rivers State, Dumo Lulu-Briggs, assured party supporters that his campaign would offer the state a new direction when the governorship campaign officially begins.

Lulu-Briggs thanked participants for their sacrifices and expressed confidence that the party would overcome the challenges confronting the state.

“We want to assure your excellencies that we are not afraid. Courage is not the absence of fear,” he said.