Former Anambra State Governor and 2019 Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Peter Obi, Monday, emerged Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP after Prof Pat Utomi, Mr Joseph Faduri and Mrs. Olubusola Emmanuel Tella stepped down for him.
Declaring Mr Peter Obi winner of the Presidential primaries during the National convention of the party held in Asaba, the Delta State, the Returning Officer, Mr Usman Aliu Abdulahi said Mr Peter Obi polled 97 votes out of the 98 total vote cast.
The Primary election was witnessed by officials of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC and security agents.
Addressing newsmen after his declaration, Mr Peter Obi, said his mission is to remove Nigeria from consumption and sharing to a production country, saying as Anambra State Governor, “I left in Diamond Bank of Nigeria $50 million and N12 billion. I left in Fidelity Bank $56 million and N12 billion. They are banks in Nigeria you can go and verify.
“Since I left office as Governor of Anambra State, the state has not bought me pure water. Let me tell you, I have got a simple mission, Nigeria is not a productive country. I just want to remove it from consumption, from sharing to production.
“If you listen carefully, you hear people talk about 100 million living in poverty. Why do we have insecurity as a problem?
The number one thing to fight insecurity is to pull people out of poverty. When you have over 20 million out of school, then we have a problem, we will invest in education.
“The reason we don’t have power in Nigeria is because our leaders have chosen not to do so.
The first time this country borrowed money in September 1964 was when Tafawa Balewa wrote the World Bank for $82 million to build the Kainji Dam. And he said it then that he was applying to build the facility, 760 megawatts of electricity for the growth of the country.
“Fifty-eight years after, we are still struggling with 4,000 megawatts. As at today, Nigeria is owing $120 billion. Imagine if we had used that money for power, we would have be generating over 40,000 megawatts of electricity. But we consumed the money, and that is why we find it difficult to service debt.
“If you have 40,000 megawatts of electricity, you will be able to set industries and factories in all the local government areas.
We are a people of 200 million and we are generating 4,000 megawatts. South Africa is just 60 million but they are generating 54,000 megawatts. Egypt with a 100 million population are generating 54,000 megawatts.
What will shock you is that Egypt doubled their own, between 2016 and 2020. It was 22,000 megawatts.
“It can be done in Nigeria it is not rocket science, what we need here is a leader with a vision, capacity, competence to deliver. Go and ask about what I did in Anambra State.
“I will show you that this country called Nigeria will start seeing the face of hope if we all work hard to bring in a new government that would harness people’s talents to march up opportunities, a government that would block leakages and curb wastage, a government that can look into the future of our children and know we cannot continue this gangsterism and stealing of government assets.
My dear people, for the sake of our children, let us stop this otherwise it will take a toll on them.”
Prof Pat Utomi who addressed delegates at the National Convention, said; “Obi must be given the opportunity to govern this country.”
Utomi said the time to change the country has come, adding that Obi has the capacity to bring the needed change.
He assured that he would bring other political parties to join forces with the Labour Party in the 2023 General election.
Recall that Mr Peter Obi resigned from the PDP and pulled out of the party’s presidential contest about two weeks ago and moved into the Labour Party in pursuit of his political aspiration and dream for Nigeria.
