I'm not leaving Labour Party, says Peter Obi

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, said that his major concern is how to solve the myriad of problems confronting the Nation and not the “family” misunderstanding among the party’s members.

Obi said that the time for elections and politics is over, saying that leaders in and out of power should be focusing on how to salvage the lives of the poor. Making the country a better place for the people in the grassroots and different communities should be a priority for all, he said.

He said this in Bauchi on Sunday when he commissioned a water project he donated to Sabo Layi Community along Bauchi-Ningi Road.

The former Anambra State governor said that he was going around the people in communities in Nigeria, to know their livelihood and how they are fairing amid hardship facing the larger percentage of the population of Nigeria “for me to see if there is little things I can help them provide that can make their lives better and then request for them to continue to pray for Nigeria.”

He pledged to assist with additional donations to about 100 people in the community.

The former governor of Anambra State said that it is time for the leaders of the Country to love each other and work to assist the poor people.

Speaking on the recent hike in electricity tariff by the federal government, he said that it is right to tax the rich who can afford to pay more and use the resources to help those who can not afford it.

“Because we need to do more in the area of power, it is taking too long. We need to generate and distribute more power but we have to put into consideration that the majority of Nigerians are suffering, so we need to support those areas to be able to live and be able to produce something,” Obi said.

“When they start to produce something, we are pushing them out of poverty and that’s where my theory of moving from consumption to production comes in.

“We can’t tax people first, we need to support small businesses and ensure that this tariff is not spread across the same level –for the big and for the small.”

Reacting to insinuation making the round that he might leave the party, Obi said “never”. He added that: “I only advocated for peace. I’m a man who believes in peace and unity.

“I believe that there is no difference between me and others but I have the grace of the Almighty. And that is why I’m coming down to the community, I could have sent someone to do this but I said no. I am going to the communities and embracing them, talking to them and knowing how to solve their problems.”

He said it should not be about elections, but about spending more time with the people to know what they want. Quality time talking about how to return out-of-school children back to school.

“I have said it before, I’m not desperate to be president, I’m desperate to see Nigeria working for poor people. It is important for me because we cannot continue this way. The poor people in this country are suffering a lot and I am urging all leaders –in and out of office, this is time for us to listen, time to work with them (the poor), time to feel a bit of their pain.”

Obi said that the leadership crisis rocking LP would be resolved amicably. “The Labour Party is not the problem of Nigeria, the problem of Nigeria is beyond the Labour Party, so my focus is on Nigeria. My promise is a new Nigeria, and that new Nigeria is where I’m focused and we must remain focused on it.

“If it is not about the leadership of Nigeria, I wouldn’t have provided this water. Let’s talk about how people will live and eat, I assure you that the Labour Party will resolve those issues –it is family, no family without fight, no individual is perfect,” he said.