Obi Promises Northerners top Priority on His Agenda

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, has promised the Northern region that, if elected, he will give the region top priority on his agenda because the region holds the majority of the country’s wealth.

The Arewa Joint Committee Interactive Session was held at the Arewa House Auditorium in Kaduna on Monday, October 17, 2022. In his remarks, Obi, in his speech entitled “the unmet Needs of the North,” said that the area is important to the development plans of the Obi-Datti administration, should it be elected president in 2023.

“We shall pay as much attention to the development of the North as to the development of all other parts of the country, but with much greater emphasis on the development of the Agricultural resources. The North remains where the biggest and most sustainable wealth of this great Nation lies.

To increase the productivity and competitiveness of all sectors of the Nigerian economy, the LP Candidate stated that they want to pursue policies, programs, and projects aggressively.

We will, in particular, do the following in the North; “offer immediate and decisive long-lasting and permanent-effect resolution of all security challenges in the North; Ensure that farmers return to all farmlands for the 2023 farming Season. We will make Nigeria’s arable land in the North her new oil and gold.

And as part of our Marshall Plan for Education, “we will foster Federal intervention in education at all levels in the North and partnership with State Governments and international organisations to improve access to affordable and quality education at all levels;  Ensure adequate representation in government, equitable appointments, especially in the Security and Economic Sectors; Incentivize the resuscitation of the moribund cotton and textile industries; and full exploration of the cattle economy value chain, notably the $75b global hide and skin economy. 

By 2025, Nigeria’s share of the global market is expected to generate over $1 billion, according to his announcement. His administration will ensure a very generous deployment and allocation of economic and social projects and infrastructure in the North, paying special attention to roads, energy, power, dams, and solar energy from the sun.

The Nigerian people, according to Obi, want answers to the many problems they are currently facing and believe that a new Nigeria is possible.

“But we must return to the dreams of our founding fathers to create an egalitarian society. The Nigeria we seek will be a United and Secure Nigeria that symbolises the spirit, letters, and exhorting ethos of our national anthem – ‘one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity where peace and justice shall reign.”

According to the former governor of Anambra state, the Obi-Datti ticket aims to provide Nigerians with meaningful leadership that is governed by the fear of God and with the best of intentions. Where the law and the Constitution always take precedence.

Obi also explained to his audience, which comprised the Northern corporate and political elite, why the situation in Nigeria had gotten so bad: “Our leaders became self-centred, narrow-minded, and stopped caring about the common guy. Impunity, poor leadership, and polarising rhetoric became the norm. Nigerians have endured hardships; they have lost their jobs, farms, herds, and faith in our leaders. That narrative must change.”