FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
THE presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi on Thursday in Benin City said he joined the Labour Party because of what he was told about the leadership just as he insisted that the federal government can only lift people out of poverty and create employment when the country begins to produce rather just a consuming nation.
Obi stated this in Benin City at a Colloquium & Hall of Fame organized by the Edo Policy Round Table (EPRT) in conjunction with the Mudiame University in honour of the National Chairman of the LP, Barr Julius Abure where he said Nigeria is blessed with all the God given resources and people but lacked leadership.
He said “We have a leadership that is engulfed with waste and consumption, no production so when you are talking about your policy of pulling people out of poverty or creating jobs, if you remove the country from consumption to production, you create jobs for people it is simple. As long as when we wake up in the morning all you think about is what to buy, what to consume, do that ceremony, it will not work, all of us must be involved, we must stop people from stealing public money, we must stop people from wasting public money, it is not their private money, all of us are involved we must stop praising them.
“A country like Nigeria has no reason to be poor if not because of leadership, if you compare Nigeria with the three biggest economies in Europe- Germany, Britain and France, these three countries, if you compared them with Nigeria in land size, they are just about 20 percent bigger than Nigeria when you put the three together.
“If you talk about the population, the UK is about 67 million, France is about 64 million, Germany is about 84 million and three of them put together is 316 million and Nigeria is about 216 million and I can tell you that we have more resourceful people, youths than the three of them have.
“But when you now compare our economy, if you put the economy of the three of them together Germany is GDP of $4.4 trillion, UK GDP of $3.2 trillion, France is about $303.2 trillion and you are getting about about 10 trillion economy and We are about $400 billion, so they are 25 time more.
On why he joined the LP, Obi said “I have known Julius for less than two years now, before I joined the Labour Party I never met him anywhere. But when I met him I said to him, Julius the way you see me here is the way I am. I am joining this party because people have told me that you and your leadership are going to allow free, fair primaries and since then, our relationship has been on that basis.”
Earlier, the president of ERPT, Dr Francis Igberaese called on the LP to establish a research institute to act as policy formulation arm of the party while on his part, the founder of the Mudiame University, Professor S. E. Eromosele said Edo State lacked policies on investment and development unlike Lagos state which he said has contributed to its development.
The keynote address presenter Dr Yanusa Tanko said there was need for electoral reforms in Nigeria to make “The Independent Electoral Commission and its chairman actually independent”
Abure in his speech said the 2024 Edo governorship election would the people of the state the opportunity to elect the right governor he termed “Shepherd Governor”, who he said would be a bridge-builder and must be selfless and ready to take risk and make personal sacrifices at all times in the interest and well-being of Edo people.
On his part, the state chairman, Kelly Ogbolai said, “Julius Abure has been his long time friend and party member. Adding that they have known for several years,and he is a very gentle man, firm when decisions are taking. “