—Vows competent team, decisive action on insecurity
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA — Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has unveiled a four-year governance agenda anchored on competent appointments, economic reforms, infrastructure rehabilitation, security and direct engagement with Nigerians if elected president in 2027.
Obi, who said he would take personal responsibility for running the government rather than governing through proxies, also promised to redirect resources saved from petrol subsidy removal into productive sectors such as agriculture, small businesses and job creation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on Arise News on Thursday as part of its presidential campaign series, the former Anambra State governor said four years would be sufficient to begin transforming Nigeria if the right people and policies were put in place.
“I will be in charge and I will not run government by proxy. I will be answerable to the people,” he said.
Obi said his administration would focus on clearly defined priorities instead of attempting to execute numerous projects simultaneously.
“I will not spend one extra day. Four years is enough to engender change and I did it as Governor of Anambra State,” he said.
He identified the selection of priorities, appointment of qualified and credible officials and effective teamwork as critical to achieving results within a single term.
On infrastructure, Obi said his administration would prioritise rehabilitation of existing roads and other facilities before embarking on new projects.
“We will not build new roads until we fix the existing ones,” he said.
Subsidy savings
On fuel subsidy, Obi said he would remove the corruption and criminality associated with the subsidy regime but criticised the Federal Government’s management of the resources generated from its removal.
He said the government had disclosed that subsidy removal generated about N15.8 trillion, which he said informed his repeated reference to approximately N16 trillion.
According to him, the resources should have been channelled into productive sectors, particularly agriculture and small businesses, rather than being deployed in ways that had failed to improve the living conditions of Nigerians.
“The subsidy regime in Nigeria was enmeshed with corruption and criminality. I have said it clearly that I will remove subsidy and fight that corruption and criminality,” he said.
Obi argued that lower fuel prices could also be achieved through regular supply of crude oil to domestic refineries and competitive refining for local consumption.
He said subsidy could be justified when targeted at productive sectors, citing Indonesia’s lower interest rates for small businesses as an example.
“We’re going to make sure that we do the right thing that will make the country productive and create wealth, opportunities and employment, a win-win,” he said.
Obi also criticised what he described as excessive government expenditure, arguing that some resources could have been deployed to critical sectors such as healthcare.
He cited cancer treatment as an example, saying Nigeria had fewer than 10 cancer centres and that establishing additional centres would require significantly less funding than some government expenditures.
No return to subsidy
On calls by some political actors for the restoration of fuel subsidy, Obi said he would not return to the old subsidy regime.
He instead promised targeted investments in agriculture, education, healthcare, skills development and manufacturing, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
“The north has an asset. Nobody in this country, none of us, none of the areas—can say they have what the north has. I will deal with that asset, and that asset is agriculture,” he said.
Obi said his administration would invest in agriculture, support poor Nigerians, including almajiris, with education and skills, and revive manufacturing activities that had declined in parts of the region.
He also promised to moderate fuel prices across the country.
Criticises Tinubu
Assessing the administration of President Bola Tinubu, Obi said it had failed to meet Nigerians’ expectations, describing its leadership and spending as reckless.
“I think you should ask the people. But if you ask me, they’ve not done well. They’ve been a bit reckless in what they’re doing,” he said.
Asked whether he believed Tinubu was fully in charge of government, Obi said: “At times, I believe he’s not in charge.”
He said a president must be directly accountable to citizens and should personally explain government decisions to the people.
“Nobody will talk for Peter. Because I’m the one that’s elected. I’ll be answerable to the people. And for every penny, I’ll be answerable to the people,” he said.
Obi also promised to halt what he described as unnecessary government construction until existing schools, roads and other infrastructure were rehabilitated.
He said he would also spend his holidays in Nigeria if elected president, rather than travelling abroad for vacations.
“The Nigerian President must spend his vacation in Nigeria. We cannot continue with this nonsense,” he said.
Security
On insecurity, Obi promised to take personal charge of the country’s security architecture as Commander-in-Chief and visit areas affected by attacks instead of governing the security situation from Abuja.
He said insecurity had made farming, movement of agricultural produce, manufacturing and general economic activities difficult.
According to him, his first step would be to appoint competent heads of security agencies and give them a clear mandate to tackle insecurity.
“In the first week, it’s for me to appoint competent heads of security agencies with a decisive instruction: We must deal with this,” he said.
He also promised immediate consultations with stakeholders in affected areas and said he would personally visit states experiencing serious security challenges.
“I’m not going to sit in Abuja if there’s a problem in Zamfara. We’ll call the people in Zamfara and see what this problem is, and deal with it decisively,” he said.
On state police, Obi said his administration would do whatever was necessary to secure the country.
He, however, rejected ransom payments as a strategy for addressing kidnapping.
“No,” he said when asked whether he supported ransom payments.
Obi said modern surveillance technology could be deployed to locate criminals and rescue kidnapped victims, arguing that security agencies should focus such technology on criminals rather than political opponents.
2023 election
The NDC candidate also pledged to concede defeat in the 2027 presidential election if the process was free, fair and credible, while maintaining that he won the 2023 election.
“If the election is free, fair and credible, I will. That’s it. Because it’s an election. I’m not the one that will say who they want to serve. And I will respect the will of the people. That’s democracy,” he said.
Asked why he did not concede the 2023 election, Obi maintained his position that he won the poll, but said he had chosen to leave the matter in the past.
“As long as I live, I will maintain that I won the 2023 presidential election,” he said.
Competence over ethnicity
Obi also rejected the idea that the presidency should rotate according to ethnicity or religion, arguing that competence should determine who governs the country.
“Our elections should not be driven by tribe or religion. Today, in terms of qualification, I’m qualified to be president of Nigeria. I have the competence,” he said.
He dismissed arguments that he lacked the experience required for the presidency, citing his education and professional exposure.
“I’ve been to the best schools all over the world, from Oxford to Cambridge to Harvard to Columbia to Kellogg to IMD. I’ve been everywhere in terms of education,” he said.
One-term pledge
Obi reiterated his pledge to serve only one term of four years if elected, saying he would not seek to remain in office beyond the period.
“I will not stay a day longer,” he said.
According to him, the objective of a four-year tenure would be to reverse what he described as Nigeria’s wrong direction and establish a foundation for sustainable development.
“In four years, people will see the difference,” he said.
He also promised a physically present presidency, saying he would visit states and communities rather than govern exclusively from Abuja.
“I want a president that can come out and move around and see the ordinary people of Nigeria,” he said.
Northern agriculture
Obi further outlined an economic development strategy for Northern Nigeria centred on agriculture and the productive use of the region’s arable land.
He said his administration would seek to transform unemployed and underproductive young people, including almajiris, into productive participants in agriculture.
He said the strategy would increase food production, provide raw materials for industries, create jobs and open opportunities for exports.
“I’m committed to their future by tapping into the huge arable land that has remained uncultivated,” he said.
Electoral reforms
Obi also linked effective governance to electoral accountability, promising to strengthen the real-time transmission of results from polling units.
He clarified that he would not establish a parallel electoral commission but would ensure that technology was deployed at polling units to transmit results in real time to a central situation room.
“I won’t set up a parallel INEC but will make sure that in every polling unit we have a system that transmits results in real time to our Situation Room,” he said.
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