The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has vowed that he is ready to die for the country.
Naijaonpoint reports that Obi made the declaration in an interview aired by Nevon Media on Tuesday.
He stated that one person must be in charge of addressing the country’s security challenges.
“I said one person must be in charge. We declare war. If you’re ready to live, you must be ready to die. If you’re not ready to die, go home,” he said.
Obi reiterated that he had no reason to hold the passport of any other country.
“I’m ready to die for Nigeria. It’s one country. We cannot have non-state actors take over the state,” Obi said.
Meanwhile, Obi has said he would have removed the subsidy on petroleum products in an organised manner if he were President of Nigeria.
Naijaonpoint reports that Obi said although he supported the removal of fuel subsidy, he would not have announced it on the day of his inauguration.
The former Anambra State governor stated this during an interview with Rufai Oseni, in response to claims that he criticised President Bola Tinubu for removing the fuel subsidy in 2023.
Tinubu had announced the removal of fuel subsidy during his inauguration as President.
Obi said his concern was not with the removal of subsidy itself, but with the process adopted by the current administration.
“I didn’t criticise Tinubu for removing the subsidy. I said I would have removed it, but in an organised manner. I wouldn’t have announced it at my inauguration,” Obi said.
He explained that he would have first engaged operators and stakeholders in the petroleum sector before making such a major policy announcement.
“I would have first sat down with operators in the industry because we know there is a lot of criminality around the subsidy,” he added.
Obi said any effective subsidy removal plan must be accompanied by a clear understanding of how much the country spends on the scheme and strong action against corruption.
“I would remove it to determine the exact amount being spent on subsidy and also address the issue of exchange rate deregulation. But in doing these things, the most important thing is to fight corruption head-on,” he said.
The NDC candidate argued that policy reforms must be implemented in a way that protects ordinary citizens.
