The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, has declared that democracy makes the ordinary people, the poor and disadvantaged the owners of the country.
Obi, who was a special guest at the Human Rights Radio in Abuja, popularly known as Berekete Radio, said that the ordinary people had critical role to play in selecting those who govern the country, adding “they can only do that through their Permanent Voter Cards.”
The LP standard bearer said that he was seeking to be hired by the owners of Nigeria, the downtrodden, because he wanted to build a new Nigeria where the populace was secure and productive.
Obi, who took time to explain to the listeners at home and those in the studio why he was aspiring to be hired for the job of Nigeria President, said that applicants’ antecedents should be put into consideration while interviewing and taking decisions to employ.
The former Governor of Anambra state spoke about his robust past in public and private sectors, explaining that having done it well in the past he was well equipped to do better being the most qualified of all the candidates.
On his being labeled a stingy man, Obi said it was not true that he was stingy.
He said what was being seen and talked about as his being stingy was his fiscal discipline in the management of public funds and those who lost out in the blockage of waste saw it as being stingy.
He used various examples to illustrate his frugality with public funds, pointing out that “corrupt people fight back when you block them by tagging you stingy.”
According to him, “saving money is not in the constitution of Nigeria but my Presidency will change our sharing mentality to saving and production mentality.:
On corruption, Obi said that if elected he would draw the line and face the future as he would not close shop to chase thieves, although he noted that the looters would not be allowed to go free.
He described nepotism as a huge corruption especially when leaders pick unqualified persons who maybe of the same family with him and allocate land and contract papers to them.
Obi disagreed with a questioner that when people get into office like President or Governor the office changes them, instead he said that money and power exposed who the person really were.
The candidate said that North was the new Nigeria gold and oil but required only a person with knowledge like him and his Vice to unlock it.
“The poverty in the country can only be tackled through production and it’s only through it that crimes and criminalities can be reduced. Those bandits are factory workers who are doing nothing,” he said.
On his position on Biafra, whether he has plans of restoring it if elected, Obi declared unequivocally that the Biafra war ended 52 years ago and that was the position.
“I am a Nigerian and running for President as a Nigerian. If the President is to be given by whose turn it is, as an Igbo it’s my turn but I am in the race as a Nigerian wishing to be hired based on my track record, competence and capacity.”
He regretted that Nigerian leaders had not shown enough compassion to the people and their plights by “neglecting the people they govern. They are annoying God by turning grace into entitlement.”
The high point of the two-hour question and answer programme was the offsetting of the lost money of over N400, 000, belonging to a banana seller whose phone was stolen and all contribution funds in her account withdrawn, by the Labour Party although the candidate urged the radio station to do further investigation as the bank might be liable if the customer did not sign to internet banking.
The station announced that over two million viewers and listeners liked the programme and none of the over 300 comments were negative, although Obi insisted on hearing the bad comments as he learned from it.
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