I must be president of  Nigeria someday, Obi declare

The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023  election, Mr Peter Obi has insisted that he must be President of Nigeria either now or in the future.

Speaking on Friday at a book presentation titled “Peter Obi: Many voices, one perspective” in Awka, the Anambra capital, Obi said it might be today or in the future  but he was sure that he would be the president of Nigeria.

Obi, who is in court with the winner of the just concluded election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said he is convinced in his spirit that he will be President.

He also pledged to accept the decision of the judiciary.

He said, “My argument is that, let’s do what is right. I always tell everyone that I will not give people money to do the wrong thing. I have been the chairman of a committee – TETFund committee, and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was my member. We know ourselves, but when he became INEC chairman, I have never met him. I told him, you are an umpire, just do what is right.

“I was at an event yesterday in Abuja, and it was a World Food Organisation event. I listened to a report that stated that Nigeria would face intense hunger in years to come. It is Nigeria that would face hunger, not Peter Obi.

“The report listed Borno, Adamawa and Yobe as the states that would be worse hit, but those three states put together are five times larger in land mass than that of Israel, yet it exports food, but Nigeria cannot feed itself.

“We must fix this country. I have only one passport. If anyone thinks that Peter Obi will run away, he is wasting his time.

“I’m in court now; whatever is the decision of the court, I’ll respect it. I’m not going to riot after which we’ll continue. But I know we’re committed to the destiny of this nation; when it’s God’s time it’ll happen.”

Appreciating the Obidients for their understanding and perseverance, Obi insisted that his softness and apologetic disposition remained the way to go and a sign of discipline and responsibility.

“We’re trying to build a new Nigeria and that new Nigeria must be ready to say sorry, even if they are right. We need to start thinking about what we are going to do to have a better country.”

Obi added that he was not struggling to free the country from bad leadership for the elite alone, but for every Nigerian.

“For three years I was in court in Anambra to reclaim my mandate, just to challenge the process. Many people tried to discourage me, but I said even if the entire four-year tenure elapsed for us to prove a point and correct the process, I will be fulfilled.

Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion and traditional ruler of Onitsha, Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, expressed the hope that Obi would reclaim his presidential mandate.

He said, “I was still a new traditional ruler many years ago, when I was invited to a meeting where some monarchs were trying to settle a matter between the then Anambra governor Chris Ngige and Obi over the governorship tussle.

“I was a new traditional ruler, so I was just listening to the conversations. Obi did not attend the meeting, but his representative said Obi sent a message that he is more interested in knowing the truth, and ensuring that the process was credible next time, and that he was not willing to back down, even if it meant remaining in court even after the tenure.”

In his remarks, the Lead Editor of the book, Prof. Chinyere Stella Okunna, described the piece as “capturing everything about the man, Peter Obi.”

She said: “We are not saying that Peter Obi is a saint, but he stands out in integrity. Nigeria is richly blessed if this man becomes president.

“Whatever we realise here will be channelled into the on-going litigation. I am hopeful that the litigation will end well; and the truth will come out.”