The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi has said that he would not loot Nigeria’s treasury if elected as the President in the forthcoming presidential election.
Obi said Nigeria will be safer in the hand of a stingy man like him, adding that he will be committed to the development of the country.
Recall that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had earlier described Peter Obi as a stingy man who could not be trusted with the future of Nigeria.
However, speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Saturday during his campaign rally, Obi said he would be able to invest in education, health, economy and other sectors to develop the country.
He also pledged to be prudent in the management of public funds while in the office, saying he would not steal public funds.
Peter Obi said “Yes they said l am stingy, but we are not out to steal the nation’s wealth. All we want to do is to use the nation’s money for our people and development of this country.
“They said that I’m stingy; we want stingy people now, so that we can keep the money. We want to make sure we use your money to transform the country.
“This election that is coming now, don’t vote for anybody because of tribe but vote for someone that will move the country forward.
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“We don’t want anybody to say that it is my turn; we want to change Nigeria for better. Our children will be in school, we don’t want people to run out of Nigeria again. We want to structure Nigeria for development. So, go and pick your PVCs and vote for Labour Party and make sure that they count the vote.”
Speaking at the rally, the LP National Chairman, Mr Julius Abure, lamented that the nation was at crossroads and all sectors were not working, adding that the LP was ready to make Nigeria work again.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress, Anambra State chapter, has knocked Obi over his “sick” country and “sick” candidate comments.
The party said the description of Nigeria as a “sick” country by Obi only showed the opposite of patriotism for a country he sought to rule, adding that vying for the highest office in the land requires proven consistency of leadership traits, not opportunism.
The APC said Obi should not celebrate anyone’s illness, no less someone he ran a presidential race with, without disagreeing with his antecedents.
This was disclosed in a statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the party on Saturday, Okelo Madukaife, who said, “The description of Nigeria as a sick country by Peter Obi, a candidate who wants to be president is the opposite of patriotism.
“However, we are happy that the country, which Obi described four years ago as a ‘vehicle without an engine’ consistent with the talking-down trend, has found an engine and now requires only maintenance arrow-headed by a good engine doctor.”
However, the LP National Vice Chairman, South-East, Chief Innocent Okere, said Obi’s statement that the country was sick was not misplaced.
He stressed that the APC was “playing to the gallery,” and seeking ways to make a “political statement” from what Obi has said in Anambra.