Peter Obi, 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says that Northern Nigeria will celebrate him if he becomes President.
Speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, the former Anambra State Governor, also, explained how he and others helped the late military ruler, General Sani Abacha, to solve a major problem at the ports.
Obi is currently a prominent member of the opposition coalition floated on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
According to him, the greatest asset Nigeria has is in the 19 states domiciled in the northern region of the country, but the potential of the region with numerical voter strength and vast arable lands has been largely untapped because of the hydra-headed monster of insecurity.
“We have voted for incompetence, we’ve voted for tribe, (and) we’ve voted for religion; let’s vote for competence. I want them to trust me. The biggest asset of this country is in the north, the uncultivated lands in the north. The criminality we face in the north today, I will deal with it. If I am President, the North will celebrate me. I have an idea of the problem.” he said.
He stated that his background was rooted entirely in private enterprise and commerce before he ventured into public office, noting that his first-ever government role was as an elected Governor of Anambra State.
“I have never worked for any government before I became Governor. I was a very successful businessman. I was part of those controlling trade in Lagos.”
Obi recounted an incident during the Abacha era that may have been misconstrued as a link to military government.
According to him, during the mid-1990s, Nigeria’s ports were severely congested due to import restrictions following the international backlash against the Abacha regime.
This situation threatened the survival of many legitimate importers.
“When Abacha took over, they blocked the port, and goods were not coming in. We came to Abuja, about 50 of us. We were able to elucidate the problem we were facing,” Obi explained.
He said the meeting with government officials at the time was purely business-driven and resulted from pressure from private stakeholders seeking solutions to the port gridlock.
He added that the intervention led to a Presidential directive for the finance minister to decongest the ports immediately.
“The Head of State directed the finance minister to decongest all the ports in Nigeria. When they finished after two weeks, they said it’s not the time to probe the ports” he recalled.
Obi emphasised that the meeting was not an endorsement of the military regime at the time, nor did it constitute working for the government.
“I never met Abacha, and I don’t know anything about the military,” Obi stated.
