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Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), threw a jab at Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, saying next month’s poll is not about ethnicity or tribe but competence.
Mr Obi, who spoke during his presidential campaign in Ondo State, also told Mr Tinubu that Nigeria presidency was not the birthright of any ethnic group.
“The presidency is not a birthright of any of the ethnic groups in the country but credible, prudent and responsible leaders should be voted to power in 2023,” Mr Obi said on Saturday in Akure, the Ondo capital.
The LP flagbearer added that the country would be safer in the hands of a “stingy man” who would be prudent enough to manage all public funds and resources.
Mr Obi’s latest vituperation on Mr Tinubu came as a reply to the former Lagos governor who first attack the LP candidate at a campaign in Akure.
On January 7, Mr Tinubu came hard on Mr Obi, saying the LP candidate was stingy, stressing his philosophy of saving state funds was wicked and a recipe for underdevelopment.
The two-term former Lagos governor accused Mr Obi of saving Anambra funds while residents of the state suffered, describing his prudence as “wickedness.”
“All he (Obi) could do was boast that he saved money. But I tell you it is a wicked parent that holds money in his hand yet allows his children to starve.
“Likewise, it is a heartless governor who holds back money when people go hungry, and schools, roads, and clinics go into disrepair.
“Neither the city-dweller nor the farmer prospered under him. In the end, he refused to save the people because he preferred to save money,” he added.
Speaking further in Akure on Saturday, Mr Obi admitted he’s stingy, but noted that the country would be safer in his care if given the chance to govern.
He stated that being prudent would allow him to invest heavily in education, health, the economy, and other sectors to develop the country.
“Yes they said l am stingy, but we are not out to steal the nation’s wealth but all we want to do is to use the nation’s money for our people and the development of this country
“They said that I’m stingy, we want stingy people now so that we can keep the money. We want to make sure we use your money to transform the country,” Mr Obi said.
He promised that the country would be more secure with his government, if voted in the February 25 poll.
He stated that the entire country was already insecure, with Nigerians suffering and living in hunger.
“No more school strikes. We will support small businesses. No Nigerian will leave his or her community because of insecurity. We guarantee you that insecurity will stop. We want to fight corruption. We will make sure that we have electricity.
“So, we don’t want anybody to say that it is my turn, we want to change Nigeria for the better. Our children will be in school, we don’t want people to run out of Nigeria again. We want to structure Nigeria for development,” Mr Obi explained.
National Chairman of the LP, Julius Abure, decried the level of underdevelopment in the country, noting that the nation was at a crossroad.
Mr Abure, however, pleaded with electorates to vote for Mr Obi, noting that he was the only candidate that has the political idea to change the narratives.
Messers Obi and Tinubu would be joining sixteen other candidates in next month’s presidential election.
Mr Tinubu, who served as Lagos governor between 1999 to 2007, says it’s his turn to be Nigeria’s president.
Nigerians have criticised his use of the Yoruba phrase ’emi lokan’ (It is my turn) to campaign for votes, with former president Olusegun Obasanjo urging the electorate to jettison him for Mr Obi.
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