2027 presidential hopeful and former governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, has said that he will prioritize a credible opposition as President of Nigeria, saying that opposition parties are essential to governance.
Obi, who recently moved into the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, from his previous party, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, stated this on Thursday when he visited the University on the Niger, a faith-based institution, where he donated N25 million for the development of the institution.
While fielding questions from journalists, Obi said he was leaving political parties not for the fun of it, but because there were crises and acrimony in such parties, and he was usually the target.
He said: “People are talking about issues of political parties, but for me, I talk about issues of service. As you know, I have never left any party for leaving’s sake. I leave a party when I see conflict and crisis. I was in Labour, and I saw endless unresolved litigations and problems, and those problems were mainly because of me, so I felt I should leave.
“So I went to ADC and I felt the same situation, so I had to leave. When you move around, you will see that people just want power for the sake of power. That is why I’m pleading with them to allow democracy to thrive.
“Opposition is a critical part of government. If I were to be in government today, the main thing I would achieve is to have a strong opposition. Work with them, take their constructive advice.”
Asked why he was still moving about making donations at a time when he should be saving for the presidential project ahead, Obi said people were expecting him to save money to pay agents to guard his votes, but Nigerians must guard their votes themselves and not wait to be paid to do so.
“I’m spending money to support education because I value the future of these young people. Don’t expect me to keep money to buy polling unit agents because I will not do it.”
Addressing students of UniNiger, Obi said: “I urge you all to take your education seriously. You may want to be in business or politics, but the future of livelihood belongs to those who are educated.
“We want a country where the child of a nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody. We will attain it; it won’t be forever. Not when you finish school and you start going around looking for who to see before you can get a job.
“It is shameful that a councillor earns more than a professor. That is why we are in the race for president,” he said.
