The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria has blamed the current situation of the country on poor planning and bad leadership.
Obi noted that individuals must be stopped from embezzling public funds and ensure that the monies were used to better the country.
Obi stated this at a colloquium and Hall of Fame in honour of the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, organised by the Edo Policy Round Table in association with Mudiame University, Irrua, in Benin City on Thursday.
In his goodwill message, Obi noted that there was nothing wrong with Nigeria, adding that God has blessed the country with all the good things of life but that the problem of the country is a lack of planning and good leadership.
He said, “The reason why the country is failing today is due to lack of planning. When you talk about lack of planning, you are talking about lack of implementation because we politicians, when we are campaigning, everything is sweet and good but once we have the opportunity, we would bring out our true side and start doing the opposite.
“There is nothing wrong with Nigeria. The country has one of the best in terms of land, weather, God-given resources and people. If we have a better Nigeria, Edo state will be better. For those you think are leaving Edo, they will come when Edo is good. One thing God has not given Nigeria is leadership, if we have a good leader we will do better.
“We must stop people from stealing public money. We must stop people from wasting public money, it is not their private money and all of us are involved, we must not celebrate them.”
He, however, urged Nigerians to unite in rebuilding the country for future generations.
On his part, the guest speaker, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, noted that Nigeria at 63 was still searching for a new political order, adding that the full realisation of the country’s dream of independence has been made impossible because of the dominance of the factors of ethnicism, religions and politics, which he argued, have also affected the survival of democratic rule and national development.
He praised Abure for making his mark by modifying the LP to an unbelievable success by building on the strong foundation laid down by leaders like Chief Dan Nwanyanwu and the late Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam.
In his speech, Abure said the September 2 Edo governorship scheduled to be held next year affords the people of the state the opportunity to elect the right governor.
He stressed that such a governor must have the capacity to bring all shades of persons together to achieve the objectives of developing the state and must have innovative ideas and openness to harness the state resources to create for the state.
He noted that the LP would be interested in wealth creation and poverty eradication, security, local government administration, education, health and infrastructural development.
Earlier, the Chancellor of Mudiame University, Prof. S . E. Eromosele, noted that the situation in Edo state was dire with poverty, hardship, and backwardness exacerbating the dependency ratio.
He, therefore, called for a government that drives people-oriented policies, adding that citizens deserve to be integral to the policy-making process.
