Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) said he was at the NKST Synod in Mkar, Gboko Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue state to help the people make the right choice for President in the 2023 elections.

He stated that the major task on his mind when he becomes President of the country was to deliver the over 130 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Obi disclosed this while speaking with newsmen at the JS Tarka stadium, Gboko, Gboko LGA of the state shortly after addressing his supporters on Friday.

According to him, “I came on the invitation of the Synod to talk to them about the next election which I say is a crucial election.

“Just I like I have said, the release shows that Nigeria is 216 million in population and it is said that 130 million people are in poverty and that is what should concern us. And that is what concerns me.

“How do we get these people out of poverty, this is critical and that is why I have come to help them make the right choice.

“Let them think of their children being in school, think about what they will give to the nation, building a nation is the job of the government and all Federal agencies within the nation.

“For me, instead of thinking of how we can regulate the birth rate, we can make that number an economic asset if we want to make the country productive.

“The population of India is 1.2 billion, China 1.4 billion. China HDI (High-Density Index) is high, India medium and we are still low even when we are one-seventh of their population,” he said.

He asked rhetorically, “How do we make our population an asset and a component of production?

“We must make it productive; if we get it up and running, we will see that things will start changing. We must reduce the cost of governance, criminality and corruption within the government space.

“There is no government that has eliminated everything, but ours is at an unacceptable level. We must reduce the level drastically. We should put every resource into production and you will see the country change.

“We are going to the base on next year’s elections on character and trust. Let them not come and tell you that we will fight corruption let them show their record. $60 million dollars is what I Ieft in Anambra coffers after my 8-year tenure.

“Remember what I said: I will not serve Nigeria from Abuja, I will serve them from their various states. I will visit all the states, and discuss with stakeholders on what we need to do to turn around the states because in a federating unit, the sub nationals is a critical and integral part of the whole so you need to sit with them consistently to chart a way forward.

“Commenting on the redesigning of the Naira, Obi said “I do not know their reason for redesigning the currency so I cannot comment so much about it. For me, I say that Nigeria is not a productive country.” (Daily Independent)

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