Former governor of Anambra State and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has urged Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) to rise above ethnicity and religion.
To Kwankwaso’s earlier statement that the Northern area will not back any candidate from the South-East in 2023, Obi responded in this way.
In an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, the LP candidate claimed that it was because of remarks like Kwankwaso’s that Nigeria’s security, education, and economy had gotten worse.
Obi said, “The comments from my respected elder brother, Kwankwaso, is the reason why we have 100million Nigerians living in poverty; it is the reason why we have 18million Nigerian children out of school. It is the reason why we have over 55 per cent of Nigerians under the unemployment ladder.
“It is the reason why we have all the problems and insecurity in Nigeria because rather than voting competence, we choose to vote for incompetence, based on the primitive concept of ethnicity and religion.
“Tell me, today you can’t travel from Abuja to Kaduna by road, by rail or by air. Is it because someone from South-East is in charge? You can’t travel from Abuja to Minna. Is it because someone from South-East is in charge? Yesterday, we had an attack on the presidential convoy in Katsina; is it because of tribalism?
“Show me where you can buy food cheaper because you are from South-East, South-West or Northern Nigeria. What we have chosen to do in this country is to consistently hire vehicle drivers to fly the Nigerian aeroplane. My commitment is; let us campaign and deal with the issues of the problems of the country.
“Our universities are closed and we are talking about tribalism. I don’t want people to vote for me because I am Igbo, from South-East; but vote for me because I am a Nigerian willing to save this country.
“Kwankwaso said I have the knowledge of the problem of the country which is economy but yet wants me to be a vice president: but why can’t I be the presidential candidate to implement the ideas? Let me tell you, I have the knowledge to start pulling Nigerians out of poverty.”
