Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has said that he would take a progressive path, different from the retrogressive path of the old political order, to birth a new Nigeria that would work for everybody under a true democratic environment.
He stated this yesterday at a townhall meeting in Umuahia, Abia State capital, during which he enunciated his vision for the emergence of a new Nigeria that people have been yearning for.
Obi insisted that a new Nigeria is possible but has remained elusive because the two major political parties that have ruled Nigeria since 1999 lacked the vision and political will to do the right things.
“We are going to build a new Nigeria. Yes, a new Nigeria is possible and that’s why I’m in the race,” he said.
However, the LP presidential flag-bearer said that Nigerians must take back their country from the retrogressive forces that have been clinging on to power.
According to him, 2023 “is the turn of Nigerians to take back their country” from leaders groping in the dark with no clue about how the county could move forward.
The former Anambra governor assured Nigerians that if given the mandate on February 25, 2023, he would build a new nation that would inspire patriotism and pride.
“I will build a new Nigeria where we shall all be proud of the green passport. I will build a new Nigeria where we shall move from consumption to production.”
Alluding to what he described as failed past governments of the PDP and the present APC administration, Obi said it was time for Nigerians to try a viable alternative in LP.
He said: “We have voted for the umbrella (PDP) but we didn’t get any protection. We voted for the broom (APC) but it has swept us into poverty and hardship. All we got from APC and PDP is hunger and suffering.
“Now, it’s time to vote for the father, mother and children (LP). What we need now is the family so that we can recover from our falling state.”
Obi specifically took the ruling to the cleaners over the present woes of Nigeria, saying that “APC has given us insecurity and hunger, fuel scarcity and ASUU strike. No state in Nigeria is safe again.”
But he stated that “if given the opportunity, I will restructure the entire security architecture of Nigeria to provide security for all citizens.”
The Labour Party presidential hopeful also promised to consign to history the incessant strikes in the university system, saying that under his watch Nigeria will be restructured to work for its citizens.
He said that Nigerians would massively vote for him based on his proven competence and national appeal and not because of where he comes from, vowing that he would run a government that would not discriminate against any part of Nigeria.
“I’m not going to win because I’m from South-east but because I’m competent and ready to build a new Nigeria. I’m prepared to lead Nigeria out of poverty to greatness. I have done it before in Anambra, I will replicate the feat in the entire country if you give me a chance,” he said.
The LP presidential standard bearer further pledged to banish tribalism and injustice from national affairs and engender a new nation where every citizen would have a sense of belonging irrespective of faith and creed.
He predicted landslide victory for himself based on his competence and national appeal, saying he is under a mandate to give hope to Nigeria youths.
Obi and his entourage, which included the National Chairman of Labour Party, Julius Abure and members of his Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had earlier held a townhall meeting with the business community in Aba.
He was also received at the Mater Dei Cathedral Umuahia prior to the townhall meeting at the International Conference Centre in Umuahia.
At each of his stops, the LP presidential hopeful was welcomed by a huge crowd of supporters chanting his name and expressing their delight at seeing their idol live.
Obi said that under his watch Aba, the commercial and creative hub of Abia would be made to realise its full potential as an industrial hub, not only in Nigeria but also in Africa.
“I visited Aba in the morning and I saw that we have over 60,000 shoe makers in Aba. Industrial activities going on in Aba will be properly harnessed,” he said. He added that within two years of his administration both Aba and the neighbouring city of Port Harcourt would simultaneously grow and fuse into one so that it would be difficult to differentiate the two cities.
Obi, who has defied the odds to rub shoulders among the front runners in 2023 presidential race, promised to give agriculture its pride of place and maximally utilise the vast arable land in the Northern half of the country to achieve food security and become an “agricultural giant” exporting food to other countries.
The governorship candidate of LP in Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti, has earlier in his remarks declared that with Obi a new dawn was already emerging from the horizon.
While calling on Abia people to give their votes to LP, Otti promised that if given the mandate he would bring about a holistic development of God’s Own State.
