By Myke Uzendu
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi on Thursday sneered that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has kept his campaign promises to Nigerians as they are now groaning under what he descried as a continuation of the eight of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s misrule, in the past one year.
The former Anambra State governor said that even as the administration of Buhari was characterized by free fall of the naira, rising inflation, high unemployment, insecurity and economic hardship, Tinubu throughout his campaign pledged to continue where Buhari stopped and has done just that.
Obi, who made the disclosure as a guest during a Democracy Day interview on Arise TV’s ‘Morning Show’, stressed that although Tinubu veered off to promise job creation, improving the manufacturing sector and export, the fulcrum of his message was that he would continue from where Buhari stopped.
He said, “Tinubu had promised to build a Nigeria, especially for the youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life.
“A Nigeria that would manufacture, create, and invent more of the goods and services it requires, adding that the country shall be known as a nation of creators, not just of consumers.
“Tinubu also said that Nigeria would export more and import less, thereby strengthening both the naira and citizen’s way of life.”
He pointed out that Tinubu was very emphatic that, “I will continue from where Buhari stopped.”
Obi, who contested against Tinubu in the election and came third, according to the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said that among all his promises, the President has kept the part he vowed to walk in the footsteps of his predecessor.
“I think President Tinubu has performed exceptionally well in his first year in office. I’ll say that President Tinubu has kept his campaign promises,” Obi said.
“Throughout his campaign, he consistently maintained that he would continue from where Buhari stopped and that he’s done very well.
“I’ll give him excellent passes. Dollar was N450, it’s now N1500. Fuel was about N238, it’s now about N700; diesel was N844, it’s now N1415; a bag of rice was N30000-N35000, it’s now about N80,000; a bag of beans was similar, N30,000-35000, it’s now about N90,000; a tuber of yam was about N2000-N3000, but now it’s about N10,000; tomatoe basket was about N40,000 and now it’s about N150,000; electricity was N66 per kilowatt but now it’s about N200, you can go on and on.
“Even bread, which is a basic thing other countries are subsidizing, small-medium bread was about N450 but is now N900. The big one is about N1500.”
Other promises made by Tinubu include, but not limited to, “assisting our ever-toiling farmers, through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes, so that farmers can support their families and feed the nation; modernising and expanding public infrastructure; emboldening and supporting our young people and women by harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism, train and give economic opportunity to the poorest and most vulnerable among us; generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity; make basic healthcare, education, and housing accessible and affordable for all; and most importantly, establish a bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation”, Obi of the Labour Party added.
