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Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has assured Nigerians of his commitment to the New Nigeria Project.
He called on Nigerians to come forward and take ownership as, according to him, “This is your project.”
Mr. Peter Obi who arrived to a rousing welcome, made the remark while speaking at the Support Group Conveners Conference held at Merit House, Abuja.
He thanked the conveners for their sacrifice and dedication to the cause assuring them that, “We can make Nigeria work.”
Describing himself and his running mate, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as drivers whose duty will be to take Nigeria to a destination of peace, unity and progress if elected as president and vice-president respectively in the coming February, 25th general elections, Mr. Peter Obi called for their ‘sack’ whenever they are found to be taking Nigerians in the opposite direction while enjoining Nigerians to demand accountability from public office holders as a way of stemming the tide of corruption.
He decried the high poverty rate in the country insisting that Nigeria had no reason to be counted among the poor nations of the world.
“All our country has produced in the last ten years is poverty. In 2012, the number of Nigerians who are poor was about 65 million. Today, it is about 95 million. And those who caused it are asking to be given more years. To do what?”
He said calling for the dismantling of the old political order which has turned Nigeria into an unproductive and heavily indebted nation. He called on Nigerians to see the coming general elections as a Change of Guard between generations of political leaders in Nigeria saying, “This election is a generational change. It is time for the older political order to exit the stage. Let the new order see how much of the mess we can salvage”
Describing the old political order as glorying in failure, he said, “Nobody claims experience in failure. People claim experience in success.”
He accused them of having wasted the time of Nigeria and Nigerians by failing to provide direction. He called on Nigerians to keep hope in the country assuring that, “We can change the story of Nigeria.”
Mr. Peter Obi also described the recent suits against the currency redesign policy of the federal Government as self-serving and wondered why same actions were not taken during ASUU strike and similar instances when the brunt was borne by poor Nigerians.
He called on the Federal Government to expedite action in making the new notes available to all Nigerians in order to ease the current strain in the economy assuring that with proper implementation policies such as currency redesign can impact positively on the economy.
Prof. Pat Utomi, convener, Big Tent, organizers of the conference, described the ObiDatti Movement as an “organic bulb of complex redundancy,” as a reference to its organic origin.
He further stated that the movement “is about providing a social network for implementing change as a panacea for effective policy making and implementation.”
He encouraged the conveners to deepen efforts in grassroots mobilization and called for vigilance to protect votes cast by Nigerians on election day. He decried the wasteful nature of governance in Nigeria due to corruption and how badly it has impacted foreign direct investment assuring that the Obi-Datti presidency will reverse the situation and rebuild the confidence of foreign investors in the Nigerian market.
He assured that “Once the world realizes that Nigeria is run by honest people, capital will rush here.”
Prof. Pat Utomi was treated to a surprise celebration of his 67th birthday with the rendition of a special spoken word piece by poet and performer, happyprince.
The need to build strong alliances with similar-thinking political parties and group was emphasized by Major General Chris Abutu Garba RTD, Chairman, New Nigeria Group.
He bemoaned Nigeria’s worsening situation and described Mr. Peter Obi as the only candidate on the ballot with the will to lead the way to a New Nigeria.
According to him, “Nigeria is hanging on a clip. And if not rescued will collapse. We need rescue and restoration of our country. Let us all support Mr. Peter Obi to save Nigeria.”
He assured the support groups of all necessary support to enable them perform their duties for the campaign. “The New Nigeria cannot happen without the corporation Of every one of us,” he said emphasizing that “The ObiDatti Movement is divinely inspired. Let us pray and hope that our principal (Mr. Peter Obi) will be returned elected come 25th February, 2023,” as he called for prayers.
A call on the need to stay the course of the ObiDatti Movement was made by Dr. Moses Ogidi Paul, convener, Yell Out Nigeria, who also compered the event. He said that the ultimate aim of the movement which is to see Mr. Peter Obi emerge victorious at the polls on 25th February can only be achieved if all involved especially support groups continue to work together without any form of rancor or confusion. He emphasized the need for the conveners to be mindful of distractions and inducements especially from the opposition. He also explained the multi-level structure, personalities cum functionalities within the ranks of the support groups using Prof. Pat Utomi’s “organic bulb of complex redundancy,” analogy stating that each should be engaged with in terms of its peculiarities through tolerance.
He described Mr. Peter Obi as a good leader whose admirable virtues brighten his chances at the polls. He listed some of the virtues as strong leadership skills, financial expertise, strategy, brilliant political acumen, good communication skills, empathy, problem-solving skills, good decision-making skills, integrity and strong work ethics.
Dr. Arc. Peter Agada, Chairman, Support Groups Council of the Big Tent Ensured the Support groups whose registration have been approved received their certificates.
There was also distribution of campaign materials; T-shirts, caps, wrist bands, posters, hand bills, aprons, phone stickers etc to over 200 support groups at the end of the event. All these was made possible by the ingenuity of the Chairman of the Support Groups Council.
Dr Agada also encouraged all to keep faith and keep hope alive as more materials will made available to help the support groups carry out their work in the different states and wards. Other speakers at the event include Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkarim Huseini, Director-General, Independent Presidential Campaign Council. There were also musical performances by Amb. Kingland and G.B Chris amongst other artistes.
