By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Presidential candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi has said that Nigeria has no business being associated with extreme poverty and hunger, blaming the country’s economic hardship largely on years of mismanagement and corruption.
Obi reiterated this in remarks posted on his X handle on Tuesday, following his participation as a guest and panellist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the discussion focused on practical ways to rebuild Nigeria and make the country work for its “resilient, hardworking, and long-suffering people.”
According to Obi, Nigeria’s vast human and natural resources should ordinarily place it among prosperous nations, stressing that the country’s persistent poverty and hunger were not inevitable.
“With our vast human and natural resources, Nigeria has no business being associated with extreme poverty and hunger. We have no business importing food when we possess enormous agricultural potential,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor identified agriculture as a major avenue for economic transformation, particularly in Northern Nigeria, where he said vast stretches of farmland could be harnessed to create wealth and employment.
He argued that with the right investments, policies and political will, Nigeria could achieve food self-sufficiency, create millions of jobs and become a major food exporter.
Obi also reiterated his position on the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the subsidy regime had been undermined by corruption.
He said his preferred approach, which he advocated in 2023, was to first eliminate corruption within the subsidy system, establish the actual cost of the subsidy and subsequently implement a carefully planned and phased removal.
According to him, the savings generated from subsidy removal ought to have been transparently channelled into clearly defined development priorities, including agriculture, healthcare, education, poverty reduction and national security.
“I remain convinced that subsidy removal must deliver real benefits to Nigerians; citizens should not bear higher energy costs while the savings remain unaccounted for or fail to improve their lives,” Obi said.
He urged the government to prioritise investments in food security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, human capital development, national security and national unity.
Obi maintained that Nigeria possessed all the resources required to prosper, arguing that what the country needed was competent, honest and purposeful leadership committed to the common good rather than personal interests.
“Nigeria has all it needs to prosper. What remains is competent, honest, and purposeful leadership that puts the common good above personal interests,” he said.
