In Kaduna, Peter Obi Promises to Unite, Secure Nigeria

John Shiklam in Kaduna

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday reiterated his pledge to unite and secure Nigeria if elected president next month.

Speaking yesterday, in Kaduna, while flagging off his campaign in the North-west, Obi once more blamed the security situation in the country on bad leadership.

According to him, “the security situation is not because bandits and other criminal elements are more formidable than the government, but because of bad leadership.

“That is why the bandits are everywhere and operating almost freely, killing and causing unimaginable destruction of valuables.”

He promised to restructure the security architecture and ensure the welfare of security personnel who were making sacrifices for the nation.

“We will restructure the security architecture, security personnel will be well taken care of, we will ensure their lives are taken care of so that their families are taken care of in the event of death,” he said.

The LP presidential candidate further restated that he will change the country from consumption to production country if elected.

He said, “Datti and I will change this country from consumption to production country because of the high prices of things.

“All the vast lands in the north will be centres of agriculture. Kaduna State again will become a processing centre. The Bank of Agriculture, (BoA) will finance food production in Nigeria and all the support groups, youth, women and all Nigerians, their labour for the party will not go in vain”.

Obi also promised to create a new Nigeria where every citizen would be proud to belong.

He said presently, Nigerians are ashamed to identify themselves with the country because of the many challenges the country was faced with.

“We are about to bring back that Nigeria where everybody was happy to belong,” he said, adding that, “Kaduna State represented productivity in the North. It represented what was good in Nigeria. And that is what we want to bring back. We are tired of hearing stories.”

He noted that, “Kaduna State hosts the best military formations in the country, it is supposed to be more secured than any part of the country, but there are so many security challenges in the state.

“We will secure and unite Nigeria. Security will come back again.”

Obi said the Presidential election is not about tribe, religion or region but about who has the capacity to address the challenges facing the country.

Also speaking, Obi’s running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, said “those looking for peace, unity and desiring that things work fine in Nigeria should vote for Labour Party in order to ensure the emergence of a new Nigeria.”