Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has predicted that Nigeria will experience more economic and sociopolitical problems in the coming years unless the country opts for a more pragmatic leadership in 2023.
Speaking at Owerri during his consultation with executive members of the PDP ahead of the party primaries on May 28/29 2022, Obi noted that there might not be an end soon to the nation’s security challenges, unless a concerted effort was made to that effect.
Obi attributed to the worsening insecurity to the failure of the current administration to address the challenge decisively.
He assured, that if voted into power, his administration would put in place the machinery address the situation.
The former PDP vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general election and former Anambra State Governor also promised to alleviate poverty in the country by engaging the youths in meaningful employment if elected president.
He lamented that the present leaders had failed to stimulate production in the economy and were only interested in consumption, a situation he said had caused the country more borrowings and debt.
“Our economy is collapsing; insecurity, and poverty are everywhere. Our security situation will even get worse because of leadership failure over the years; we have more people living in poverty now.
“That is why we are having crisis. We are in a country where the youth have 35 per cent unemployment rate,15 million are out of school children and we don’t have resources again because Nigeria is borrowing and not earning and whatever comes in is used to service debts.”
“We are currently doing more of consumption than production; no country can survive like that. But we would move Nigeria from consumption to production (if given the opportunity to lead the country).”
Explaining how to solve the security challenges confronting the country, Obi said: “We would use two ways to fight insecurity. We would first use the natural way to fight it; there must be means of livelihood. If it is provided; insecurity will be minimal.”
Earlier, a former presidential aspirant of the party, Doyin Okupe who accompanied him on the visit said he had decided to join Obi in his quest to be the president of Nigeria because it is the turn of Ndigbo.
Okupe also emphasised that a president of Igbo extraction would end the injustice meted to the people of the south east.
“I’m not a lone in this handshake across the Niger for Peter Obi; many people do not know that I have a lot of backing from my people from the South West. We have agreed that it is the turn of the South East and it is only a president from the zone that will end this civil war,” Okupe said.
“We must end this civil war and we would begin by voting for the South East in 2023. PDP parades good candidates but Obi stands out among them all.”
