Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has appealed to Nigerian electorate to put aside ethnic and religious sentiments and vote a patriotic Nigerian with the competence, capacity and character to address the socio-economic challenges of the country.
Obi said this through a statement on Monday by the Chief Spokesman of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Tanko Yunusa, in Abuja.
The presidential hopeful spoke against the backdrop of the furore generated by the statement credited to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
In a viral video, Atiku Abubakar had said at a forum in Kaduna that the North should not vote an Igbo or Yoruba candidate but a Northerner.
The candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had earlier declared that it is the turn of the Yoruba to produce the country’s president in 2023.
But Obi, according to Yunusa, urged “Nigerians of all hues, creed and tribe to look beyond our tribes and tongues and vote for a presidential candidate who will transform Nigeria from consumption to production.”
The former governor of Anambra State noted that every Nigerian is bearing the pains of the challenges of hunger, gross unemployment and World Poverty Capital, irrespective of religious affiliation, ethnic cleavages or geographical location.
He said: “There is insecurity everywhere in our dear country, Nigerians in the East, West, South and North are being terrorised by insurgents and bandits and we have witnessed killings and kidnapping nationwide.
“Obi is a solution provider and will if voted into power transform Nigeria to a progressive, united and prosperous nation.”
He further submitted thus: “Inflation has reached boiling point. We have 40 percent unemployment. Even those who are working are under employed. Across the country, our youths are jobless and this joblessness fuels insecurity. It is a vicious circle.
“So, we have to choose the right person with the requisite competence, experience and capacity to tackle these problems irrespective of where the person comes from, his religious affiliation or ethnic background.”
Obi assured that if Nigerians vote for him and his running mate Yusuf Datti, they would galvanise the human and material resources of the country to tackle the security and economic challenges facing the country.
He also assured that LP would run a people-centred government, and not one that would favour a few elite at the detriment of the generality of Nigerians.
Obi challenged Nigerians to go and investigate his educational background and track records, as well as those of his running mate, saying they both have nothing to hide.