As terror attacks, banditry, kidnappings and other acts of violence continue to rage across the country, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has charged President Bola Tinubu and members of his cabinet to put on hold all forms of foreign trips and deal with the ugly situation at home. Obi, who expressed serious concerns with the upsurge of violence even in the Federal Capital Territory, described the recent killing of two abducted young girls in Abuja as depressing and an indication that the nation’s capital had reached an emergency situation.
He said that the time had come for the government at all levels to adopt serious measures to tackle the security challenges facing the country. “It is unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2015, campaigned and won the elections on three items; Security, Economy and Corruption (SEC). After his Eight years in office, the situation has worsened in all three areas. “The present administration, on assuming office, promised to deal decisively with the same situation – Security, Economy and Corruption. Today, however, the situation is getting even worse than ever,” he said.
Obi recalled that during the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held in Lagos in August 2022, the then Vice Presidential Candidate, Sen. Kashim Shettima categorically stated that if APC is elected, he as Vice President would be in charge of security, while the President as an expert in economy would handle the economy. The former Governor of Anambra State urged Nigerians to prevail on both Tinubu and Shettima to fulfil their campaign promises. “Even if they do not achieve 100 per cent results, we want to see 100 per cent effort.
It is now time to stop all forms of foreign trips from people in government, until we deal with the ugly situation facing us at home. No foreign investor or partner will like to invest in Nigeria, with the situation we now find ourselves in. We must make sincere efforts to end the spread of violence and insecurity in our nation, in order to make any meaningful progress,” he said. Obi also expressed surprise at the presidential approval for the sum of N3 billion for verification of national social register of the poor, an amount more than three times budgeted for the National Library.
He maintained that the government must deal decisively with the issue of cost of governance in Nigeria. “This approval raises a fundamental question: how come the data for poverty alleviation has not been verified on a regular basis? The inability of we the leaders to prioritise our expenditure and focus on the critical areas of national development, and national security, are the challenges weighing down on our nation today. “This is happening at a time in our nation when we need all the manpower training to keep our work force productive.
Our national library, a very critical infrastructure in our nation, seemingly abandoned, lacks books and educational materials. The same amount would have made a significant impact, if prudently and transparently managed. “Unless we begin to sacrifice our personal comfort for the good of society, and begin to care more for the people, especially the less privileged ones, our nation will continue to grapple with all forms of societal ills caused by high level of poverty,” he said.
