The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election Mr. Peter Obi, has vowed that whether now or in the nearest future, he will be Nigeria’s President.
He was speaking at the unveiling of the book “Peter Obi: many voices, one perspective’ in Anambra State.
“Anyone who thinks I am on a transit is wasting his time. Let me tell you, I must be the president of this country. I am sure of that. If it is not today, it must be tomorrow.
Other people who want to be, should come and tell us what they want to do, and how to do it. This is my country, I don’t have dual citizenship. If anyone thinks I am going to run away from Nigeria, they are lying.
“I have three engagements in Anambra and Lagos today. I will be speaking in Lagos tonight. We will not leave Nigeria. I am not in a hurry to become the president, but I know it must happen,” Obi said.
Saying that his struggles to free Nigeria from poor governance is not just for the elite but for all Nigerians, the defeated LP candidate said the common man must have a place they can recently live and feel fulfilled.
My argument is that, let’s do what is right. I always tell everyone that I will not give people money to do the wrong thing. I have been the chairman of a committee; TETFUND committee, and Prof. Yakubu Mahmud was my member. We know ourselves, but when he became INEC chairman, I have never met him. I told him, you are an umpire, just do what is right.
“nd you insist on perpetuating anarchy, then, it will consume everybody one day. I insist that we must do the right thing.
“I was at an event yesterday in Abuja, and it was World Food Organisation. I listened to report that stated that Nigeria will face intense hunger in years to come. It is Nigeria that will face hunger, not Peter Obi.
“The report listed Borno, Adamawa and Yobe as the states that will be worse hit, but those three states put together are five times larger in land mass of Israel, yet Egypt exports food, but Nigeria cannot feed itself.”
Speaking at the event, the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, called Obi a man of destiny.
He said he had known Obi for long adding that when he said he would return as Governor of Anambra after his impeachment, many people did not believe it would happen.
Achebe said, “I was still a new traditional ruler many years ago, when I was invited to a meeting where some monarchs were trying to settle a matter between the then Anambra governor Chris Ngige and Obi over the governorship tussle.
“I was a new traditional ruler, so I was just listening to the conversations. Obi did not attend the meeting, but his representative said Obi sent a message that he is more interested about knowing the truth, and ensuring that the process is credible next time, and that he was not willing to back down, even if it meant remaining in court even after the tenure.
“It took him three years, but he was later restored. His representative then said, Obi only wants the truth to be known, and even if it happened after the expiration of his tenure. Also, when he was impeached, he told everyone that he would return, and he returned.
“Later, there was an election, and Andy Uba replaced Obi. He called me again and said that these people want to spoil our country. I had also heard that the judgment was to be delivered the next day, and that it may be against Peter. He (Obi) called me and he said he was confident that he would return as governor. I am saying this because this is a man I know very well. Someone called him man of the moment, but I choose to say that he is a man of destiny.”