As the campaign for the 2023 general elections officially commenced on Wednesday, the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has hinted that the manifesto of his party, which he said would be launched very soon would be anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the issue of security, unity of the country, revamping the economy amongst others.
Obi, who spoke on ARISE News Prime Time, said his party’s manifesto was “95% ready”, explaining that his group was working with the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to fine-tune it along the Charter Demand of labour because, “Labour interest is critical, and we want to bring it into our manifesto and protect same.”
Speaking during a one-on-one interview, the Labour Party candidate claimed he has what it takes to solve Nigeria’s challenges and expressed confidence that he would emerge president come 2023 because what Nigerians are looking for now is someone they can trust. This, he said, was exactly what he is selling to Nigerians today.
Giving a breakdown of his manifesto, Obi said, “our manifesto is anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals” and that the key issues are “security, uniting the country, ensuring that our cohesion comes back to what it used to be, issues of Rule of Law, Law and order, fighting corruption, making the country productive, creating jobs amongst others”.
According to the presidential hopeful, the issue of security was something his administration would deal with “decisively” if elected because every other thing revolves around it. Part of his strategy would be the introduction of multi-level policing from the local governments to the state and then the federal level and the review of the entire security apparatus.
Obi disclosed that he has met with various stakeholders on the security issue, “done detailed study and compared with other nations of the world.”
On the issue of corruption, Obi assured that he would not waste his time running after alleged corrupt Nigerians or government officials but would focus on blocking leakages, just as he described the current fuel subsidy payment as an “organised crime”, which his administration would end if elected. He also disclosed plans for modular refineries to increase local production of fuel.
Apart from restructuring the security system of the country and the economy, the Labour Party presidential candidate further assured that he would initiate constitutional restructuring after issues of insecurity and poverty had been resolved, saying, “we need to restructure the country, this one will happen, I believe in it and it is in the interest of the whole nation.”
Obi noted that being a democratic system of government, his administration would initiate a conversation on the issue, and engage Nigerians in dialogue to get their support.
On how his administration would survive the huge debt burden if elected into office, Obi reiterated that the strategy would be to move Nigeria from being a consumption to a production nation, noting that when the majority of the people are empowered revenue will increase.
Alex Enumah
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