From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja and Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has vowed to destroy the structures that have kept Nigerians in poverty.
This is as he has promised to declare war on the power sector if elected President of Nigeria on February 25.
He also said his administration would address the issues leading to agitations by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Obi disclosed this, yesterday, while speaking at Chatham House, London in the United Kingdom.
The LP candidate said his administration would fight corruption, crime and boost foreign direct investments into the country.
He said: “Let me assure you of what we’ve been campaigning on. You have heard them say we don’t have structure; that is the structure we are trying to destroy — structure of criminality, I assure you of it.
“We are going to turn around the power sector — Nigeria generates about five to six thousand megawatts of electricity for 200 million people. And South Africa, the second biggest in terms of economy on the continent — 60 million people — generates about 40,000 to 50,000, and South-Africa in the past three months has declared emergency on power and said anybody can generate up to 100 megawatts without licence.
“So, somebody who is 60 million, generating about over 40,000, declared emergency, what do you think somebody with 200 million people generating five to six thousand would do? War. I’m going to declare war on power and I will solve it. Anybody who stands in the way, so be it.”
The former Anambra governor also said if elected, his administration would create a suitable platform to attract foreign investors into the country.
“Bringing back foreign investors is like bee and honey. What you need is to create honey; where the bee would find the place is very simple. Foreign capital is scared of corruption, is scared of board policies, is scared of where there is no rule of law. You need to put a regulatory environment that makes it conducive; you need to secure it. That is at the heart of what Datti and I are offering. We will build intangible assets of securing the country, making sure that we govern through rule of law. We will fight corruption,” he said.
On IPOB aggitations, he said: “We are going to look into the issue of justice and marginalization which some of them are hinging their grievances. We are going to apply the carrot and stick in dealing with the agitators. But in the end there can only be one government and we will be in charge.”
When asked about how he planned to deal with a National Assembly that might be predominated by other parties, Obi cited his experience as governor of Anambra state, where none of the 30 members of the State Assembly belonged to his political party. He added that the best course of action in such a situation is to act morally, avoid nepotism and transactional policies, because even lawmakers value good governance.
He stated that security would be his top concern because he would do all possible to protect the environment. He would accomplish this by first putting the nation into production, rescuing people from poverty, and effectively deploying our military
Meanwhile, a support group, the Obi-Datti People’s Movement (ODPM) has expressed optimism that northern Nigeria will be all out to give support to Peter Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed during the forthcoming general elections, as well as all the LP candidates vying for various offices across the country.
The group stated this at a press briefing, yesterday, in Kaduna, ahead of Obi’s campaign flag off billed for Wednesday in the political capital of Northern Nigeria.
National Coordinator, Obi-Datti People’s Movement Nigeria, Charles Obiora Anueyiagu assured that with an Obi-Datti presidency, all the woes of Nigeria would become a thing of the past within the shortest possible time.
The group said thier support for joint ticket of Obi-Datti was based on the facts that for the first time all Nigerians are speaking with one voice irrespective of tribes, regions and religions to vote for Peter Obi and the Labour Party.
