Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP has said that the party and organized labour have never been opposed to removal of subsidy. Obi who spoke on Arise TV’s Morning Show, Wednesday, said the reason the labour union has been critical of the subsidy regime was that the government has not been able to show anything for it. He expressed concern that the Nigerian government could have better utilized the funds currently being expended on subsidy. “You have to convince people. People are against removal of subsidy because whenever it is done, they did not see its benefit. We did privatization, we didn’t see the benefit. What we did is we privaitize profits, we socialize nothing,” he said. Obi stressed that his government would pay more attention to production and exporting to grow the economy and revenue, adding, “I plan to bring back a new Nigeria that everybody will be proud of.” He added that Nigeria is not exporting enough for foreign exchange to service the country’s debt. The Labour Party candidate also noted that what power can do to the economy is immeasurable.

  The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that Nigeria is currently in a comatose state and needs a specialist like him to save its life. Obi was speaking on Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, where he addressed questions surrounding the seeming deadlock between his party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party. The PUNCH had reported earlier how the presidential candidate of the NNPP, Rabiu Kwakwanso, had stated that he would not bend backward to accept the vice-presidential ticket as both parties continued to seek common ground to berth protracted talks over a possible alliance. It was also reported that a chieftain of the NNPP, Buba Galadima had buttressed earlier comments by the party’s flagbearer that the NNPP would not play second fiddle in the ticket on the grounds that the South-East did not have the political strength Kwakwanso would bring to the ticket. Reacting to comments by the NNPP, Obi said 100 million Nigerians were in poverty today because of the mentality exhibited by his senior comrades. He further described Nigeria as a patient in coma, which would imminently die without urgent intervention of an expert like himself He said, “We choose to vote for incompetence based on a primitive consideration of ethnicity and religion. Tell me, today, you can’t travel from Abuja to Kaduna by air, by road, or by train. Is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? You can’t travel from Abuja to Minna by road, is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? Yesterday, we had an attack on the presidential convoy in Katsina, is it because a person from South-East is in charge? Show me where you can buy food cheaper.” You have not talked about electricity, or people are prospering in the North because northerners are in power? In the South-West because they are in power or in the South-East.” Appealing to Nigerians to jettison politics of religion and ethnicity, obi said it was high time Nigerians chose their leaders on the basis of merit and competence. He added, “What we have chosen to do in this country is that we consistently hire vehicle drivers to fly the Nigerian airplane, instead of qualified pilots. My commitment is, let us campaign and deal with issues on the problems with the country. There are a lots of problems besieging this country. If you don’t know today, this country will soon default in their debt servicing. This is what should be preoccupying us now. Universities have shut down and we are talking about who we’ll vote for. Let’s deal with the issues. This election will not be based on ‘my turn’. It will not be based on ethnicity. It will not be based on religion. It will be based on a Nigerian agenda to save this Nigeria. Nigeria is in coma, and it needs a specialist, and that is what I’m offering to save its life or it will die. I’m appealing to people to vote to save Nigeria, and to save Nigeria is to hire the best.” Yesterday, the Director-General of the Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, had announced that the planned alliance between the Labour Party and the New Nigerian People’s Party for the 2023 general election is “dead.”

  The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, said Nigeria’s affairs were being piloted by ‘vehicle drivers’ instead of professional and certified pilots. The former Anambra governor stated this while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show. “Nigerians have consistently hired vehicle drivers instead of hiring qualified pilots to lead the nation,” the presidential candidate said. Obi added, “My commitment is to let our campaign dwell on challenges in the country. There are a lot of problems besieging this country. “This country will soon default on its debt servicing. This is what should be preoccupying us now. Universities have shut down and we are talking about who we’ll vote for. Let’s deal with the issues. “This election will not be based on ‘my turn’, ethnicity, and religion. It will be based on a Nigerian agenda to save this Nigeria. Nigeria is in a coma, and it needs a specialist, and that is why I’m offering to save its life or it will die. I’m appealing to people to vote to save Nigeria, and to save Nigeria is to hire the best.” He added that the primitive considerations by Nigerians during the electoral cycle had led Nigeria to the current quagmire, adding that 2023 should be the time Nigerians must elect a capable candidate to pilot the country’s affairs. He said, “Nigeria is in a coma and needs an expert to save it. I am appealing to Nigerians to vote for me as the best man for the job and not because of primitive consideration. “I don’t want Nigerians to vote for me because I am from the South or on a regional basis. I want Nigerians to vote for me based on competence and what I can offer.” On the issue of subsidy removal and what he would do when elected, Obi said it was depressing that the Nigerian government was using funds that could be better utilised for other things to subsidise petrol “You have to convince people. People are against the removal of subsidy because whenever it is done, they did not see its benefit. We did privatisation, we didn’t see the benefit. What we did is we privatise profits, we socialize nothing,” he said.

  The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, opened up on his choice of running mate, saying he preferred a younger person as vice-presidential candidate. The former Anambra State governor stated this while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show. He added that he prefers a younger person who has something to offer to complement his ticket rather than recycling old hands who had been in the government before now. When asked to clarify social media rumours that he had picked the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of Northern Elders Forum, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, as his vice-presidential candidate, Obi noted that though consultations are ongoing, he was yet to pick a running mate. He said, “We’re talking to a quite number of people and Hakeem Baba-Ahmed is a capable hand. But I wish I can work with somebody who is more younger. “I prefer younger people who have a lot to offer rather than recycling old hands. I want a competent person and I am building a formidable team. “I want people who can look me in the eye and disagree with me during cabinet meetings. People who have their own minds and ideas. On when he will release his manifesto, he said rather than a manifesto, he had practiced all that he is preaching and the records are there for Nigerians to verify. “How can I hire professors to write or draft policy documents for me that I don’t even believe in? “I have replicated all that I am promising Nigerians before. It would be the same thing. What I did in Anambra and what I achieved is what we will replicate on a larger scale. We want Nigeria to become the engine of production,” the presidential candidate said. On the campaign of calumny on social media, Obi alleged that his opponents had paid some people online to malign his campaign team by infiltrating his core supporters and releasing falsehoods online. The former Peoples Democratic Party chieftain noted that despite the campaigns of calumny online and rumours that northerners won’t vote for him during the 2023 election, he believed that Nigerians and people from the north will vote for him based on competent. “I am contesting to be Nigeria’s president to solve the country’s problem and not because I am from a part or region of the country. “We need to do things that will bring people hope. Nigerians must be proud of this country and that is what I planned to do,” he added.

  An author with the African Writer Magazine, Ikhide Ikheoa, has said the Delta State Governor and running mate to Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Ifeanyi Okowa, was his classmate at Edo College, Benin City. Ikhide, in a reaction to the controversy over Okowa’s certificate, posted to his Facebook page, Pa Ikhide, that the governor was his classmate from 1974-1976 (HSC). Ikhide, who until recently was also the Chief of Staff to the Board of Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Maryland, United States, said Okowa was one of the smartest “in a very competitive class.” “Dr. Arthur Okowa was my classmate at Edo College (1974-1976 HSC). In a very competitive class he was one of the smartest. He passed his A levels with flying colours and went on to become a medical doctor. I found my 1974 WASCE result the other day, I was surprised to see it! ” he wrote. Ikhide added that Okowa’s pedigree could be verified with another “classmate and my bosom friend, Professor Eghosa Osaghae,” who he referred to as a “great political scientist and current director general of NIIA (Nigerian Institute of International Affairs).” “You can verify Arthur’s pedigree with another classmate and my bosom friend Professor Eghosa Osaghae, great political scientist and current director general of NIIA. We were at Edo College together and they both attended UI (University of Ibadan),” Ikhide said. Ikhide noted that certificates were “largely ceremonial”, while transcripts were more important. “Decades ago, Nigerians had many scholars for leaders. It’s been almost 50 years but I remember Arthur as a smart, decent, caring soul. Certificates are largely ceremonial; in four decades in the US, I’ve never had to show anyone my certificates. That’s what transcripts are for. “PS: Arthur was very smart. I was always first in class, and he would come a distant second. I am a genius. What??? Ask him!” added Ikhide.