By Andrew Onyejuruuwa
Former governor of Anambra State and Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi yesterday questioned Nigeria’s fuel subsidy policy, describing it as a scam, just as he revealed his resolve to end the policy and channel the humongous amount of money it gulps to critical sectors like power, healthcare and education if elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2023.
The consummate businessman and billionaire also said Nigeria’s economy is currently in a comatose state and needs a specialist like him to save its life. Obi was instrumental to the revival of Anambra State economy when he was governor for eight years, after surviving impeachment twice.
Obi, who spoke on ‘The Morning Show,’ on Arise News Channel, also added that he was still consulting with political leaders to get a credible running mate as vice president for the party in the 2023 general election. The Labour Party presidential candidate said the amount of subsidy that had been spent in the past 12 years would have solved a lot of issues in education, health, and power.
He said, “If we have 20,000 megawatts of electricity today, I can assure you that we’d be growing at more than four per cent and would have added over $100 billion in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There has been a lot of mismanagement of resources that would have changed the entire north. We are going to do it in such a way that it will be transparent. To avoid mistrust, when it (subsidy) is removed, what we are going to do with it should be made known. We must look at it critically.
“I am going to remove subsidy because I am going to use the resources to do something that will benefit the nation. If that can’t be achieved, then, I am not going to remove it’,” Obi said.
He dispelled rumours that he had already picked Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, a Kaduna-based politician as his running mate ahead of the 2023 general election. According to him, in the coming days, his vice president would be unveiled. He, however, said he would like to work with someone who is much younger, adding that he was building a formidable team which would save Nigeria. Obi explained that he would like to work with someone who can also tell him when he is wrong as he can’t know everything.
“I want somebody who is competent, I have a soft spot for Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and a few others. We need to start bringing younger people on board with fresh ideas who have something to offer instead of recycling ourselves,” Obi said.
Speaking further, he urged Nigerians to vote for competent leaders and not be swayed by the primitive concentration of ethnicity and religion. He said the elections shouldn’t be based on ‘its my turn, ethnicity or religion’, stating that it should be based on a Nigerian agenda to serve the country as it is in a state of coma, which needs a specialist, which he said he would offer to Nigerians if elected as president. He further appealed to people to vote to save Nigeria, saying people should not vote for him because he is from the South-east, but that they should vote for him because he is a Nigerian who is competent to pull Nigeria out of the mess it is in today.
Addressing the remarks made by Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) that he wasn’t going to get votes from the north, Obi said his remarks were reasons why Nigerians were still living in poverty, insecurity, adding that children are out of school in the nation and 55 per cent of the population were under employed because of such mindset. He said there were lots of issues to be dealt with and that should be the focus.
He said, “We choose to vote for incompetence based on a primitive consideration of ethnicity and religion. Tell me, today, you can’t travel from Abuja to Kaduna by air, by road, or by train. Is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? You can’t travel from Abuja to Minna by road, is it because somebody from the South-East is in charge? Yesterday (Tuesday), we had an attack on the presidential convoy in Katsina, is it because a person from South-east is in charge? Show me where you can buy food cheaper.” You have not talked about electricity, or people are prospering in the North because northerners are in power? In the South-West because they are in power or in the South-East.”
He urged Nigerians to jettison politics of religion and ethnicity. He added, “What we have chosen to do in this country is that we consistently hire vehicle drivers to fly the Nigerian airplane, instead of qualified pilots. My commitment is, let us campaign and deal with issues on the problems with the country. There are a lots of problems besieging this country.
“If you don’t know today, this country will soon default in their debt servicing. This is what should be preoccupying us now. Universities have shut down and we are talking about who we’ll vote for. Let’s deal with the issues. This election will not be based on ‘my turn’. It will not be based on ethnicity. It will not be based on religion. It will be based on a Nigerian agenda to save this Nigeria. Nigeria is in coma, and it needs a specialist, and that is what I’m offering to save its life or it will die. I’m appealing to people to vote to save Nigeria, and to save Nigeria is to hire the best.”
Obi also clarified the air about being involved with Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), stating he has never been involved in sponsoring any agitation. He said, “I made a comment in 2017, stating that IPOB and all other agitations are as a result of leadership failure over the years that failed to address the critical areas of developments.
“I’ve followed issues of agitations globally, I’ve done different studies and it can be dealt with. To tell you why all these are lies, all the commissioners that served with me throughout my time in the office as governor of Anambra State are from the north.”
Fielding questions about restructuring, Obi said Nigeria as it is structured today cannot work. He further recommended state policing, stating that governors should oversee their security so that police commissioners can be removed if they are not performing. He also confirmed he would promote state federalism because it would help in security and education. He added that the level of the police personnel was unacceptable, stating that they should be twice of what the country currently has.
