The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said he can change the trajectory of Nigeria to a positive one” within four years if elected president in 2027.
Obi, who made this declaration while addressing journalists on Wednesday, also confirmed that he will seek a place on the ballot.
In a broadcast aired on Channels TV, the former Anambra governor said he is confident in his capacity to lead and called on voters to weigh competence when choosing their next president.
“I am contesting, and I am sure I will be on the ballot. People will have to look at who is competing, who has the capacity, who has everything,” he said.
“I think I am qualified; I have the capacity to do the job. I will say it over and over again that, in four years, I can change the trajectory of Nigeria to a positive one.”
Obi, who contested in 2023 under the Labour Party, has publicly associated with an opposition coalition that has adopted the African Democratic Congress as its platform.
He said he remains a Labour Party member and is committed to working with other opposition leaders to “rescue the country from bad leadership.”
He declined to be drawn into speculation about joining the Peoples Democratic Party, saying instead that “all well-meaning Nigerians must come together now to rescue the country.”
Obi criticised what he described as a misplaced focus on political manoeuvring while millions remain in poverty.
“Why are we not talking about the 139 million people who are poor in this country?” he asked, urging that the plight of the poor take precedence over partisan politics.
Reacting to recent high-profile defections to the ruling All Progressives Congress, including Enugu Governor Peter Mbah and Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri, Obi said defections reflect personal political calculations, not coercion.
“We are not in a military time when you capture people,” he said, adding that democracy is sustained by persuasion, not force.
He described Mbah as a good friend and said governors must be allowed to make decisions based on their own political judgments.
PUNCH.
