2023: Obi advises Nigerians to vote patriotic leaders

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr.  Peter Obi, has advised Nigerian electorate to put aside ethnic and religious differences and vote for a patriotic Nigerian with the competence, capacity and character to address the socio-economic challenges facing the country.

Obi said this in a statement he released in Abuja on Monday.

The presidential candidate spoke against the backdrop of the furore generated by the statement made in Kaduna by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

In a viral video, Abubakar said the North does not need to vote an Igbo or Yoruba candidate but a northerner. 

Recall that the candidate of the All Progressive Candidate, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu had earlier declared that it was the turn of the Yorubas to produce the president.

But Obi, who appears to have captured the imagination of Nigerian youths, in the statement issued by Dr Tanko Yunusa, Chief Spokesperson  LP-PCC, urged Nigerians of all hues, creed, and tribe to look beyond tribes and tongues and vote for a presidential candidate who will transform Nigeria from consumption to production.

The former Anambra State governor noted that every Nigerian was bearing the brunt of the challenges of hunger, gross unemployment and World Poverty Capital, irrespective of  religious affiliation, ethnic cleavages or geographical location.

He said, “There is insecurity everywhere in our dear country, Nigerians in the East, West, South and North are being terrorised by insurgents and bandits and we have witnessed killings and kidnapping nationwide.”

According to the statement, “Obi is a solution provider and will, if voted into power, transform Nigeria to a progressive, united and prosperous nation.”

The statement added, “Inflation has reached boiling point. We have 40 percent unemployment. Even those who are working are under employed. Across the country, our youths are jobless and this joblessness fuels insecurity. It is a vicious circle.

“So, we have to choose the right person with the requisite competence, experience and capacity to tackle these problems irrespective of where the person comes from, his religious affiliation or ethnic background.”

Obi assured that if Nigerians vote for him and his running mate, Yusuf Datti, they would galvanise all the human and material resources of the country to tackle the security and economic challenges facing the country.

He also assured that LP would run a people centred government, and not one that would favour a few elites at the detriment of the generality of Nigerians.

Obi challenged Nigerians to go and investigate the educational background and track records of him and his running mate, saying they have nothing to hide.