The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, on Monday, January 16, addressed Chatham House, London, ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Obi, who has been addressing various strategic groups in Nigeria at town hall meetings, travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) to share his campaign plans at Chatham House, a globally admired and respected platform for intellectual engagement on different issues of contemporary interest to people around the world.
Obi, while speaking, vowed to tackle the nation’s multifarious challenges including oil theft, debt servicing, youth unemployment, electricity problem, insecurity, amongst others.
On the nation’s structure
According to the 61-year-old politician, the current “structure” in Nigeria is that of criminality and it has impoverished the West African country.
He, therefore, vowed to dismantle the “structure” if elected president next month.
Obi said that he would end corruption among government officials.
He stated that he is the only former governor who did not owe salaries, gratuities or any pension after leaving office.
On enabling business environment
The LP presidential candidate said that he would provide enabling business environment that will attract foreign investments.
Obi said that, “Bringing back foreign investors is like bee and honey. All you need to do is to create honey and the bees would find it.
“Foreign capital is scared of corruption, is scared of bad policies, is scared of where there is no rule of law.
“You need to put regulatory and secure environment. We will fight corruption.
“When you borrow for consumption, you have a crisis.
“We have grown that debt by over 400 percent but our per capital is 2,000. That means the money we borrowed was thrown away.
“We will restructure the debt for a long time to be able to pay it. Then we will say no more borrowing for consumption but for investment.”
“Revenue shortfall and leakages such as oil theft will be dealt with decisively by holding persons in positions of authority fully accountable,” the LP presidential candidate added.
On power supply
Obi said that he would “turn around the power sector” if elected president in the forthcoming general election.
According to him, he would move Nigeria’s power generation capacity from 4,000 megawatts to 7,000 megawatts by the end of 2023, Channels TV reports.
“My solution to the perennial power problem in Nigeria is comprehensive and well-covered in our manifesto,” Obi said.
“We’ll ensure we deal with the issue of transmission and distribution.
“However, we will immediately complete the $2.3 billion Nigeria-Siemens network improvement deal to achieve a stable 7,000 megawatts by the end of this year, 11,000 megawatts by 2024 and 25,000 by 2025,” he added.
On acquisition of digital skills for students
Obi, while speaking on Monday, said that he would tackle youth unemployment through investment in education, research, quality entrepreneurial education.
The LP presidential candidate said that he would pursue his education plan by “incorporating compulsory technical and vocational skills, sports, entrepreneurship programming, digital skills from primary to secondary school level.”
Obi noted that, “In line with this commitment to transform our educational sector, we will prioritize the funding of this critical sector.
“Our tertiary institutions will be remodeled to serve as hubs of research development and commercialisation,” he added.
On security issue
In tackling insecurity, Obi said that he won’t have any “sacred or untouchable.”
He said that, “As long as you are not involved in this transactional governance, you won’t have an issue dealing with anybody.
“We are at an existential threat and there is no sacred cows.”
He added that as long as thousands of Nigerians are in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps, all Nigerians are in IDPs.
On fiscal challenges facing the country
The LP presidential candidate said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, is not the cause of the fiscal challenges facing the country.
Obi, while speaking at the Chatham House in London, on Monday, asserted that the weakness of the country’s fiscal space is the cause of the country’s economic woes.
He said that, “The CBN governor will maintain his independence, he will be respected.
“Again, it is not the problem of the person there. CBN has a role of monetary policy. Then, you have the fiscal space. It’s like going to a football match and the person who is supposed to be playing a particular wing is no longer there.
“The weakness of the fiscal space allowed the monetary space to take over, because of the weak governance structure, that is why we are able to do what we are doing.
“Replacing Godwin (Emefiele) and putting somebody else there, with that level of fiscal rascality, is not primarily the solution.
“As long as the government continues on that fiscal rascality, this situation will occur again,” he added.
As of Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the country’s inflation rate stands at 21.34 percent.
On corrupt government officials
Obi, on Monday, alluded to the presence of a small group of nepotistic politicians holding Nigeria captive for their interests.
According to him, the country is faced with “alarming” insecurity that has led to the loss of many lives and property, a significant decline in food and economic output, immense mental trauma, and in some cases contributed to disaffection with the “Nigerian project.”
“The economy is in crisis with a troubling debt profile worsened by oil theft of proportions once hard to imagine,” Obi said.
“Two economic recessions in six years and lamentable power sector have significantly constrained manufacturing and social life.
“The Nigerian state is captive to an elite gang-up and a rental political economy that concentrate power in the hands of those at the helms of affairs.
“Many of these people do not have the incentive to serve the people genuinely.
“Even after exploiting the ethnic and religious cleavages, sentiments to ascend to political power, the people on whose sentiments they grab power often become the primary victims of such political fraud.”
Consequently, the former Anambra state governor stated l that Nigerian democracy has been on the decline.
On the nation’s status as the world’s poverty capital
The LP standard bearer lamented Nigeria’s status as the poverty capital of the world, having surpassed India in 2018.
A November 2022 report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) further indicated that 133 million Nigerians are poor.
“This needs to change,” Obi said, adding that what separates poor and rich nations is attributed to health and education.
“A rich nation provides quality health and educational system for a society, committed and focused leadership that can build and sustain public wealth as I was told by Prof. Donald Jacob of Kelloggs School of Management,” he said.
“In many ways, this is the heart of my remarks today, which are deeply rooted in my upbringing, particularly my mother’s consent that I live a life of positive impact and I manage both personal and public resources most prudently for the sustainable inclusive growth of the society.
“It is this principle that guided my stewardship as governor of Anambra state and led to our much-commended performance with some prize awards to show for it,” he added.
Comments