The Labour Party’s Mr. Peter Obi has advised the North that it is time to mend fences and foster trust ahead of the general election in 2027.
Obi also asserted that poverty is the primary cause of instability in Nigeria, particularly in the North, and that if its leaders were to change and put humanity first, Nigeria might become a wonderful country.
During a heated address during the National Consultative Group (North) important meeting in Abuja on Sunday, Obi made this claim.
As previously reported, Obi met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Governor of Rivers State Rotimi Amaechi, and former Labour Party Vice Presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed on Sunday in Abuja.
The National Political Consultative Group, North, was gathering opposition leaders at the Continental Hotel in the country’s capital.
The gathering is a prelude to the coalition that would be formed in 2027 to unseat President Bola Tinubu.
During his speech, Obi informed the northern leaders that they should think about voting for competency and capacity in future elections, as they had all tried and voted for religion in the past.
“I have maintained that the insecurity in Nigeria, especially in the North, rests on poverty. I have been in the financial industry for years; when you look for cash you go to Kano. Go to Kano today, those industries are not there. Go to Kaduna, there are no textile industries again in Kaduna.
“We used to book Kaduna trade fair two years in advance to get a space. Today nobody goes there. We used to go to Maiduguri for cash, today nobody goes there. That’s the poverty. And when you have poverty, you will have criminality that you can’t control. It all rests squarely on governance to solve.
“I have always said that the North can change Nigeria, the greatest asset of this country is in the North. The solution is in the North.
“Why do we need to do a budget where we have to do a road for N15 trillion? If we put N1.5 trillion on insecurity in the North today, we can start dealing with it. We can capitalize Agric Bank with N1 trillion, and put another N1 trillion into poverty alleviation.
“One of the governors told me he wanted to do small poverty alleviation and he went to Bank of Industry and got over N2 billion, but over two years they couldn’t even put their own counterpart funding. We can solve it. The more you pull people out of poverty, the more you solve insecurity.
“We have a great country that can be changed if our leaders can change and invest in humanity. It is very easy; it’s not a difficult thing.
“And all I am pleading with all of us is for us to build trust. I know we have issues here and there and everything. This is the time for us to build trust among ourselves. Believe that we are one and remove our division.
“We have all tried; we voted for religion. Let’s vote competence. Let’s vote for capacity. Let’s make this work. It can work. Let’s hold our leaders responsible.”
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