The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has unveiled an agriculture-led plan to tackle poverty and attract voters in Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 election.
Obi said his administration would invest in agriculture, education, healthcare and skills development while reviving industries in the region if elected president.
He stated this in an interview with Arise News on Thursday while responding to questions on why voters in the North should support his opposition to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s proposal to restore fuel subsidy.
Obi rejected the proposal, saying the solution to poverty in the North was not a return to fuel subsidy but investment in the region’s economic potential.
“If there’s one president the north will celebrate, it’s me,” Obi said.
“I know the problems in the Northern North. I will deal with the issue of poverty the way it’s not been there before.
“And in a non-corrupt way, where they will see it. The North has an asset. Nobody in this country, none of us in other area, can say they have.”
The former Anambra State governor identified agriculture as the North’s major asset and promised to invest in the sector while supporting poor Nigerians with access to education, healthcare and skills training.
“I will deal with that asset. And that asset is agriculture. We’ll invest in it.
“We’ll give the subsidy in it. We will ensure that it will take all those poor people, Nigerians, back to education. Support them in different areas.
“We will make sure we invest in health. In skills. Support them,” he said.
Obi also promised to revive manufacturing activities in Northern Nigeria, particularly in Kano, where he said several factories had shut down.
“I’ll make sure they are bringing all those manufacturing activities that we lost. Today, if you go to Kano, there are factories in Bompai, Sharada 1, Sharada 2 that are gone. I will deal with the North in such a way that they will see it,” he said.
He argued that the worsening poverty in the North was not caused solely by the removal of fuel subsidy and that broader economic interventions were required.
“And this fuel token will moderate the price all over Nigeria. It’s not only affecting only them. The poverty in the North was not worsened because of removal of subsidy.
“There’s other things,” Obi said.
Assessing the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Obi said it had performed poorly in literacy, transparency and public spending.
He described the government’s expenditure as reckless and said it sometimes appeared that the President was not fully in charge.
“I think if you ask the people, but if you ask me, they’ve not done well. They’ve been a bit reckless in what they’re doing.
“At times I believe it’s not in charge,” he said.
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