BY: News Peddlers
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| Bola Tnubu and Peter Obi |
The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, took a shot at the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, saying the election next month is not about ethnicity or tribe, but about competence.
Mr Obi told Mr Tinubu during his presidential campaign in Ondo State that the presidency of Nigeria was not a birthright of any ethnic group.
"The presidency is not a birthright of any ethnic group in the country, but credible, prudent, and responsible leaders should be elected in 2023," Mr Obi said on Saturday in Akure, the capital of Ondo.
The LP presidential candidate went on to say that the country would be safer in the hands of a "stingy man" who would be prudent enough to manage all public funds and resources.
Mr Obi's latest attack on Mr Tinubu was in response to the former Lagos governor's initial attack on the LP candidate during a campaign in Akure.
Mr Tinubu slammed Mr Obi on January 7, saying the LP candidate was stingy and that his philosophy of saving state funds was wicked and a recipe for underdevelopment.
Mr Obi was accused by the two-term former Lagos governor of saving Anambra funds while residents of the state suffered, describing his prudence as "wickedness."
"All he (Obi) could do was brag about how much money he had saved. But I tell you, it is a wicked parent who has money but allows his children to go hungry.
"Similarly, it is a heartless governor who withholds funds when people go hungry and schools, roads, and clinics deteriorate.
"Under him, neither the city dweller nor the farmer prospered. Finally, he refused to save the people in order to save money," he added.
Speaking further in Akure on Saturday, Mr Obi admitted to being stingy, but said that if given the chance to govern, the country would be safer in his hands.
He stated that being prudent would allow him to make significant investments in education, health, the economy, and other sectors to help the country develop.
"Yes, they said I was stingy, but we are not out to steal the nation's wealth; all we want to do is use the nation's money for our people and the country's development."
"They said that I'm stingy, we want stingy people now so that we can keep the money. We want to make certain that your money is used to transform the country," Mr Obi stated.
He promised that if voters chose him in the February 25 election, the country would be more secure.
He claimed that the country as a whole was already insecure, with Nigerians suffering and going hungry.
"There will be no more school strikes. We will provide assistance to small businesses. Because of insecurity, no Nigerian will leave his or her community. We guarantee that your feelings of insecurity will vanish. We intend to combat corruption. We will make certain that we have access to electricity.
"So, we don't want anyone to say, 'It's my turn,' because we want to change Nigeria for the better. Our children will be in school; we do not want people to flee Nigeria. We want to structure Nigeria for development," explained Mr Obi.
Julius Abure, National Chairman of the LP, lamented the country's level of underdevelopment, noting that the country was at a crossroads.
Mr Abure, on the other hand, pleaded with voters to vote for Mr Obi, claiming that he is the only candidate with the political vision to change the narratives.
Mr Obi and Tinubu will run alongside sixteen other candidates in the presidential election next month.
Mr Tinubu, who was governor of Lagos from 1999 to 2007, believes it is his time to be president of Nigeria.
Nigerians have chastised him for using the Yoruba phrase 'emi lokan' (It is my turn) to campaign for votes, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo urging voters to vote for Mr Obi instead.
(People Gazette)