Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, has promised to restructure Nigeria and lift people out of poverty.
He made the remarks on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict, which BizWatch Nigeria was watching.
“It is not something that I am going to do by presidential fiat,” Obi said of restrictions. We’ll sit down and talk, going through the rule of law process, but I can assure you that we need to restructure.
“We all have endowments that will help the country function; those who are opposed to restructuring may benefit even more.
The former Anambra State governor stated that he would lift people out of poverty by promoting micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, noting that the sector is the most productive area in any economy.
“The greatest productive area in any economy I have studied is micro, small, medium enterprises. You can go and take a study in various countries, even first world countries talk less of third world countries. The countries that people use as exemplary today and I will always go for the ones with big numbers, from China to India to Indonesia.
“All of them their economies are driven by this sector. So I believe that you need to study, listen to this section because they will propel what we want to achieve and for me the commitment is to pull people out of poverty that is measurable,” Obi said.
According to him, what previous Nigerian governments have consistently failed to do is take stock of where things stand when they come in and how things are going once they are in office.
“In 2012 our unemployment was between 10 and 12 percent, today it’s 33 to 35, our monetary poverty was 55 million, 33 percent, today it is about forty something percent and 95 million. Of course our multidimensional poverty has now increased to 133 million.
“So these are things you need to say if in 2023 a new government comes in, we need to draw a line, this is where we stand and start implementing those thing you think that can start reversing the situation and reducing things like poverty, unemployment, inflation in an organised measurable way,” he said.
The Labour Party’s presidential candidate also promised to bring everyone together if he wins the February 25 presidential election, adding that uniting the country means giving everyone a sense of belonging.
When asked about his opponents’ criticism that he lacks a structure to win the election, Obi responded that his structure is the Almighty God and the people of Nigeria.
“When I started, they said it is just four people tweeting in a room, now they are saying I don’t have the structure, I don’t have the number, the number will be determined by the voters. My biggest structure, I said, is the Almighty God followed by the people of Nigeria whom I am pleading with to build a new Nigeria, a new Nigeria is possible,” Obi said.
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