The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has led a high-level delegation of South East political figures to engage with the North East and other regions of the country in a bid to promote unity and rebuild Nigeria.
Obi stated on Thursday in Bauchi, shortly after a closed-door meeting with Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed and key stakeholders from the state, that the engagement was not driven by party alignment, “but we are inviting ourselves to build a better Nigeria.”
He explained that the visit was intended to deepen unity and enhance collaboration with stakeholders across the South East, North East, North West, and other parts of the country toward building a stronger Nigeria.
Obi said, “My visit today, more importantly, I came with a powerful delegation from the Southeast, so that we makes the difference from my earlier visit. And my purpose of this visit is to solicit the support and cooperation of Your Excellency and the stakeholders of Bauchi and the Northwest in our quest to unite this country. We want to have a united country to build the future for our children.”
“I came with a powerful delegation from the Southeast, so that we makes the difference from my earlier visit. And my purpose of this visit is to solicit the support and cooperation of Your Excellency and the stakeholders of Bauchi and the Northwest in our quest to unite this country. We want to have a united country to build the future for our children.”
“The country cannot continue the way it is today. We are headed in the wrong direction and we need to reverse that for everybody.
“And that’s why we are asking for purpose to seek the support of the stakeholders of Bauchi in building a new Nigeria that will be for the benefit of all, building that Nigeria that we used to be, where a child of nobody can end to be somebody without knowing anybody,” he said.
He added: “We want ensure that we are to build a Nigeria where Nigerians would be secured and farmers would go to their farms and be able to earned a good living. We can make more money from agriculture that we make from oil and our greatest asset is uncultivated land from the North,” Obi added.
Following the closed-door meeting with the Bauchi State Governor and stakeholders at the Government House on Thursday, indications emerged that the discussions between the two leaders also centred on their political survival, especially as no other leader from the ADC was present.
Responding to journalists after the meeting, Governor Mohammed said, “I think we have to strategise because neither PDP not ADC is left alone. Me I am a freelance now and him his party is in limbo.
“We are looking up to the judiciary but certainly we are all in the opposition and that’s why I say it’s a political discussion and we will not let you know the I’s and the T’s we have crossed but certainly the meeting is about realignment and alignment and cooperation so that we can have a platform, we cannot go without platform. The main stream party is creating unity for us. a helping us to win elections.”
Obi’s delegation includes former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa, Senator Ben Obi, Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senator Victor Umeh, Professor Udenta O Udenta, and Comrade Tanko Yunusa, among others.
