The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi has championed a new normal whereby a a party’s presidential candidate will sign performance agreement for accountability
Speaking on Monday at the at the Labour Party National Retreat with the theme: Nigeria at a crossroad, Labour party as the only option: Labour Party in Focus, he disclosed his intention to sign the agreement with the Nigerian Labour Congress to make sure that ideas generated at the ongoing retreat are followed to the latter.
“I am in this retreat to listen, let us put it in writing when we succeed, you must be around to say this is what we have agreed on. Even if we don’t achieve 100 percent, we must have made sacrifices.”
“We will do this retreat now, after election we will do another one, election next year will not be based on ethnicity, we have had it before, it would not be on religion.
The Presidential candidate also stated that corruption is pervasive in Nigeria because leaders are involved, “If a leader is not stealing, and the family around him are not stealing we will reduce corruption by 70 percent. I was Governor for eight years, there is no where money is missing.
Obi, said next year’s Presidential election is not based on ethnic and religious sentiments.
He stressed that the 2023 elections should be based on competence.
“Since there is no place where Christians or Muslims buy things cheaper, or Yoruba or Hausa’s have free light than others in the country, then the coming election is about character and competence and not any body’s turn” he emphasized.
Earlier the National Chairman of the Party, Julius Abure added that the party has golden opportunity ahead of other political parties to present competent candidates for the elections.
On his part, the Director General of the Peter Obi/Datti Campaign Organization, Doyin Okupe who called for the reawakening of party structures urged members to step out and take over by canvassing for votes for the party come 2023.
In their separate keynote address, both the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and the President Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo stressed that what the nation need are Leaders with capacity, character and competence who can build strong structures that can stand tough times adding that the party will unite the nation.
“Leadership is about energy and intellectual capacity and explained that those saying Labour Party do not have structure will be surprised, adding that Labour is ready to activate its structures in the 774 local government areas of the country”
In a remark, human rights Activist lawyer, Femi Falana added that the nation has no business with poverty if the right people are voted in to office stressing that the nation loses 700 million dollars every day as a result of illicit Fuel Trade.