Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, yesterday, has assured that his party, if elected to the presidential seat, will return Nigeria to path of economic growth.
Obi spoke with newsmen, yesterday, at Udoka Housing Estate, Awka, shortly before continuing his road show campaigns across different parts of Anambra State.
He said the country has suffered serious economic set back under the All Progressives Congress (APC) since 2015, making Nigeria rank the worst in indices of poverty and development.
He said voting back the APC would mean “prolonging the suffering in the land,” and assured that with Atiku Abubakar at the helm of affairs, the days of economic prosperity will return and the citizens will smile again.
He said he would, also, use the governance model he employed during his tenure in Anambra State to complement Atiku’s blueprint, where “Nigeria will work again.
“Nigeria has the highest number of poor people in the world today, where about 90 million are poor; that is half of the population.
“About 21 million youths are unemployed. Nobody is happy with the situation in the country, today, and any person who is happy with the situation is not a normal human being. PDP is coming back to restore happiness and lessen the sufferings of the people,’’ he said.
Earlier, Chairman of Atiku-Obi Presidential Campaign Council in Anambra, Oseloka Obaze, said the PDP is coming with positive ideas on how to rebuild Nigeria.
In a related development, Obi has said not even electioneering, in preparation for the forthcoming election would stop him from his routine visit to schools.
Obi, who said this, yesterday, during his visit to St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Ugwuagba, Obosi, encouraged students to remain focused in their academic pursuits, adding that “education remains the most essential currency for competition in the world of today.”
After a question and answer session with the students, Obi assured them that the Atiku-led government will make education a priority.
“Atiku is education-friendly. I’ve had many sessions with him on how we would tackle the problem of education, in order to get it right.
“He is saddened by the continual strike by lecturers of higher institutions, and he is determined that under him, such would become a national pastime. Of course, he has asked me those things we did to improve education in Anambra State and he is ready to apply them nationally.
Speaking on behalf of the students, the Senior Prefect, Master Onyekachukwu Obasi, thanked Obi for his wonderful stewardship in Anambra.
He said it was under him that their school got brand new buses, computers, generators and internet connectivity, among other necessary infrastructure.
The high point of the visit was the donation of N2 million to the school for continued infrastructural improvement.