Adedokun Waliyu 
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has discredited the popular saying doing the rounds that he is unqualified to win the votes of the people in the south-west come 2023 elections.
Obi who prided himself to be the most qualified person to lead Nigeria as a nation at the combined first and second convocation ceremonies of the Dominican University, Samonda, Ibadan said if given the chance to rule the country he would work hard to redirect Nigeria from consumption to production.
He added that he would increase the economic activities and support institutions, most especially the private sector to create jobs, by focusing on pro-poor activities that will pull the citizens out of poverty.
He emphasised that unless the government cares for the poor and pulls them out of their poverty, the country is going nowhere.
Speaking on what will stand him out from other contenders come the 2023 elections, Obi said: “I have proven that I can do the job and made promises that I will be committed to and deliver on. This is all about looking into what I had promised and delivered in the past.
“The job requires a lot of physical and mental energy; it is left for you to assess those who are most suitable for the job. However, what is most important for me is to secure and unite Nigeria and move it from consumption to production because that is the only way we can pull people out of poverty and create job opportunities.”
Speaking about his political structure, he said: “My number one structure is God, the number two is human beings, and you people are my structure because you believe in me and in what I am saying.
The structure we have today is that of criminality and underdevelopment. These structures have ruined the country. So, the pertinent question is do you want to continue with the existing structure or do you want a new structure?”
On the APC’s accusation of giving statistics that are not verifiable, he challenged Nigerians to go and verify, saying “go and verify or let them give an alternative; if you say my statistics are wrong, then you give your own. You can’t say that I am wrong when you have not given your own. Ninety percent of every statistic that I have given is right, quote me anywhere.”
