By Jude Opara, Abuja
The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi has charged rich Nigerians to do more for the poor in the society with the provision of portable water and quality education.
Obi who spoke at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday said that 70% of the wealth of Nigeria is in the hands of only about 1% of population adding that if point one percent of the population which is about 200,000 rich Nigerians can deploy their resources for the basic needs of the poor in the country, the situation will not be as deplorable.
He equally urged governments at all levels to ensure that resource deployment is aimed at improving the living standards of the poor with a deliberate policy of pulling them out of poverty.
The former governor of Anambra state said that his plea in these two areas, water and education derives from his discoveries after taking a humanitarian tour of some areas in the country which he said opened his eyes to the extent of poverty and abandonment of the people.
Obi who announced the completion of the construction of ten boreholes in some states of the North for a short-term water supply for the poor said, if 200,000 rich Nigerians join him to do the same in the area of their choice, it would go a long way to solve the water needs of the poor.
Similarly in the area of education, the LP flag bearer said that the potentials he found out while mingling with the ‘Almajiris’ in the Quranic schools in the North moved him to tears because he saw brilliant children who only needed adequate support to develop them well to grow and become catalysts of development.
“I am carrying out a campaign to make the rich in our midst do more in providing water to our rural poor and helping to pull the out-of-school children off the streets for proper development.
“This is the time to cut waste, our larger population can’t be suffering conspicuous lack of basic needs like water and we live lavish lifestyles in their midst, our crisis of insecurity and other challenges derives from poverty and it’s our responsibility to pull people out of poverty through good education.
On his criticism of the coastal roads, the LP flag bearer said, that under his watch as President, he would have done things differently by ensuring that first all the existing road networks in the country were put in order.
“I cannot embark on a new road when we can’t connect our states and cities in all the geopolitical zones because of bad roads. I will first fix the roads and move the economy forward.
Concerning what happens in 2027, Obi said his focus now is how to see Nigeria work and the upliftment of the poor and not the election, because Only God can tell who can run for election in future.
On the crisis in the Labour Party, Obi said it would be resolved amicably as they are not fundamental and can be handled, “what is happening in Labour Party is child’s play compared to what is going on in APC and PDP”.
Responding to a question that he did not build any new school when he was Governor of Anambra state, Obi said; “I improved the quality, physical and mental well-being of the people, schools, had the basic things they needed and the people shone like stars and that was my manifesto. Building new schools when the old ones are moribund is just like building coastal lines when internal roads are impassable”, he concluded.
