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Tag: Peter Obi

  • Peter Obi berates Willie Obiano, says he left huge amount for him

    Peter Obi berates Willie Obiano, says he left huge amount for him

    Ex-Anambra Governor who served under the auspices of APGA, Peter Obi has stated reasons he deposited so much money for the state when he was handing over to Willie Obiano.

    Obi had, during the twilight of his tenure as governor of Anambra State, announced that he was leaving behind N75 billion for his successor, Chief Willie Obiano.

    Recall that the present Governor Charles Soludo, upon getting his mantle of leadership had mentioned that his predecessor Willie Obiano had left the state in debt. He claimed that just a paltry 300 million naira was left in the coffers and a huge debt of Over 100 billion naira.

    ALSO READ || EFCC explains why ex-Gov Willie Obiano was arrested in Lagos

    Mr. Valentine Obienyem the media aide of Peter Obi, stated reasons his principal left such big amount in the state’s account.

    He said: “Often some people who are not experts in finance and statecraft question the rationale behind savings which Obi embarked on out of mischief, display of continued opposition, hatred or pure ignorance.

    “I often express surprise at their viewpoints, because even among animals, we see the practice of saving for tomorrow out of today’s surplus. However, among the human family, we need not save only when there is surplus.

    “If, for example, one plans to buy a car next year, would one not start saving money for that? Savings is about planning and, as Obi always said, “If you do not plan, you have planned to fail.”

    “As for those in the habit of arguing against what they do not understand, I hope you will commend the debt burden that will weigh Anambra down as revealed by Prof. Charles Soludo. May I present to you the rationale behind Obi’s savings in the State as he himself explained.

    “Unfortunately, we live in a system where people do not think about tomorrow and do not plan for future generations but would prefer to obliterate accumulated income and put the state in debt before exiting the office.

    “These are the reasons he is qualified for leadership at any level. In fact, we need such a man for Nigeria to re-discover herself.”

  • I’ll join 2023 presidential race if… – Peter Obi

    I’ll join 2023 presidential race if… – Peter Obi

    Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi says he will contest in the 2023 presidential election if his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), throws it open for all to contest or zones it to the south.

    Obi, who was PDP’S vice-presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential polls, was quoted as saying this during a press interview.

    A press release by his media aide, Mr Val Obienyem, quoted Obi as saying he is capable of turning around the fortunes of the country but will wait on the decision of the PDP before he declares his intention.

    “All the elections that I followed in the past, the party that I belong to today, the PDP made a pronunciation and took a stand. At least in 2019 when I was involved, where I can say Atiku graciously chose me as his running mate which I remain eternally grateful to him for, the party decided that the candidate should come from the North and that was what the party decided.

    “And I believe that the party owes it a duty to say what their stand is. If their stand today is south, be rest assured I am aspiring, if they say north, I can’t do otherwise or they chose the option that everybody is free, then, of course, you will be hearing from me,” he said.

    The former governor, while affirming his commitment to building a better Nigeria, advised all and sundry to choose a candidate who is competent and most importantly has integrity.

    “What we are looking for in this country today are people of integrity, people of conscience, people who are less greedy. Educational qualification is not a measure of integrity; it doesn’t guarantee that somebody is less greedy or that people have conscience,” he said.

    “I have seen people here acquire what they don’t need. I saw it while I was serving, to fight corruption here, you need somebody who has integrity, who is not greedy, who has conscience if you have that, fighting corruption is easy, because, if you who is in charge is not stealing, you will reduce stealing by 50 to 70 per cent.

    “And it is critical that you have somebody who is like that. It is not when people are acquiring lands, houses, everything they don’t need; they want to live a lifestyle that is far beyond the economy of Nigeria, far beyond their earnings, that is why the place is collapsing. That is why we have insecurity, that is why we have poverty. We need to manage the costs efficiently and these are the critical areas as you people know as you look for people who will govern the country in the future”, he added.

  • Pandora papers: Peter Obi shoot down allegations of breaching Nigerian laws

    Pandora papers: Peter Obi shoot down allegations of breaching Nigerian laws

    Former Anambra State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Vice Presidential Candidate in 2019 election, Mr Peter Obi, has reacted to a media report that he breached Nigerian laws by engaging in secret businesses set up in tax havens, declaring that he broke no law.

    An online publication, Premium Times, quoting Pandora Papers, had listed Mr. Obi as one of those personalities who clandestinely set up and operated businesses overseas, including in notorious tax and secrecy havens in ways that breached Nigerian laws.

    The Pandora Papers is a leak of about 12 million documents that revealed hidden wealth and tax avoidance by some of the world’s rich and powerful.

    But reacting to this Thursday, Mr. Obi said it was exhilarating that nowhere in the article was he accused of any form of corruption, whether in the form of diversion of public funds or in any other manner during and after his stewardship as the governor of Anambra State.

    He added that the publication did not also allege that he had been engaged in unlawful business ventures at any time whatsoever.

    Obi said his understanding was that the allegation bordered more on tax avoidance and non-declaration of some jointly owned assets.

    He then wondered if thorough scrutiny and appreciation of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged transactions were made by the writers.

    “On the allegation that I violated the Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, as well as sections of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), by not declaring any alleged assets in Companies registered outside the Nigerian Federation, I think that the authors displayed ignorance on matters of Trust and International Investment Practices,” he said.

    The former governor said he did not in any respect whatsoever violate any law before, during and after his stewardship as the Governor of Anambra.

    He said that in all matters relating to his investments and declaration of his personal assets, wherever they may be found, he proceeded, pursuant to professional opinions and advice of investment experts both locally and internationally.

    Obi said he also engaged and acted on solicited advice by reputable legal practitioners on whose opinion he relied.

    He urged all well-meaning persons to see through what he called “the hopeless sleight and ignore the publication.

  • FG’s GDP growth meaningless with rising poverty – Obi

    FG’s GDP growth meaningless with rising poverty – Obi

     

    The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 general elections, Peter Obi, has condemned the latest National Bureau of Statistics report which stated that the country’s economy has recorded a five per cent growth to Gross Domestic Product growth.

    He said that growth with rising poverty in the country was meaningless.

    Obi spoke on Sunday evening when he featured on a Channels Television programme, ‘Politics Today’.

    He notably said rather than celebrating growth to GDP, which had no visible impact in the citizenry, the Federal Government should stop borrowing for consumption and face investment.

    The former governor of Anambra State noted the fact that the Federal Government had been borrowing money and spending it on consumption had not made the NBS report to make significant impact in the lives of an average Nigerian.

    Obi said that the Federal Government should concentrate on the small and medium enterprises, education as well as target its citizens in the Diaspora if it really wanted to make significant impact in the lives of its citizenry.

    Obi said, “The type of growth I want to see is the one that will pull Nigerians out of poverty by making the people to have disposable income and be able to feed themselves.

    “We need the type of growth that will educate our children, provide primary health care for all the communities. We don’t need growth based on speculations that government officials are celebrating all over the places.”

    He insisted that growth to GDP could only be celebrated in a country when people are happy with their disposable income and be able to take good care of themselves and members of their family.

    He said, “The biggest engine for economic growth is the micro, small, medium enterprises. That is the practice all over the World.

    “That engine today is not being supported in Nigeria. Nigeria has a total of 40 million SMEs but there is not properly articulated fiscal and monetary policy to support the critical sector.

    “The entire loan to private sector on Nigeria today is about N30trn. Less than N1.5trn is going to the SMEs. This is less than five per cent of the entire loan. This means Nigeria is not supporting its engine that can enhance the nation’s economic growth.

    “The SMEs are the biggest employer of labour in many advanced countries of the world. We need fiscal monetary policies that would invest in this engine of growth in order to create jobs.”

  • Peter Obi urges FG to invest borrowed funds

    Peter Obi urges FG to invest borrowed funds

    A former Governor of Anambra, Mr Peter Obi, has called on the Federal Government to invest the funds being borrowed in profitable ventures to enhance the nation’s socioeconomic development.
    Obi made the call on Thursday, while speaking with newsmen shortly after his courtesy visit to Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, in Ibadan.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obi, who is the Pro-Chancellor of Dominican University Ibadan, led top management of the institution on the courtesy visit.
    He said that debt was not bad when rightly applied and used for investment that would improve the economy.
    According to him, but borrowing for consumption is bad.
    The former governor said that the economy would have been doing better if funds borrowed had been invested and rightly spent.
    Obi, a Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP in 2019 elections), urged government to use the funds wisely.
    According to him, what develops a nation is education, health and things that can pull people out of poverty.
    Obi said that more people would be thrown into poverty, if government failed to invest in those things that would improve the economy.
    On the newly signed Petroleum Industry Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, he said the law was needed.
    “But, the government would have considered the five per cent being demanded by the host communities.
    “We must learn to care for those who are generating resources for us, whether it is petroleum, VAT or other things.
    “We should consider supporting communities or areas where we generate the income
    we are sharing,” he said.
    On the forthcoming Anambra Governorship election, the former governor called for the conduct of a free, fair and credible election.
    He said that votes of the people should count, urging politicians to stop preparing for election as if they were preparing for war.
    Prof. Anthony Akinwale, Vice-Chancellor of the institution, said the delegation’s visit was to seek the intervention of Makinde on categorisation of the institution as a business enterprise by the state’s Board of Internal Revenue.
    Akinwale also sought for assistance of the governor for provision of good road access to the proposed new campus of the University at Igbo-Owe in Akinyele Local Government area of the state.
    Makinde had pledged to look into the demands by the management of the university in a way that would favour both parties.
    He also thanked the Catholic community for being magnanimous to its host community and for contributing positively to the health and education sectors in the state.
  • 2023: Convince Nigerians why you should produce president – Peter Obi tells South East region

    2023: Convince Nigerians why you should produce president – Peter Obi tells South East region

    Former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi has challenged the Southeast region to convince other regions of its readiness to produce President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in 2023.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that governors in the 17 states in Southwest, Southsouth and Southeast have met twice in Asaba, Delta State and Ikeja, Lagos State to affirm their demand that the South should produce the next president.

    Their position subsequently got the backing of senators and House of Representative members from the regions. But the position has not been micro-zoned to any of the three zones.

    Speaking on Monday on a monitored programme on Arise TV, Obi said the Southeast must advance a “convincing argument” to the rest of Nigeria on why the region should take the slot.

    According to him, beyond having compelling points, Southeast embrace the politics of “engagement and consultation, and not confrontation”.

    Obi, who was presidential running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019, said: “We need to convince the other people why it should be us. And you know we have a convincing argument for that. But it needs to be convincing. We are not going to hold a gun in their head and say you must come here.”

    “Politics is about engagement and consultation, and not confrontation. You consult and discuss with other people and say, ‘this is how we need to do it for us to have peaceful coexistence’.

    “The decision will be done within the party. It’s not a question of my view or anybody view; it’s that of the party. Even if we say it should come to the South and the party zones it to the north, there’s nothing that can be done.”

    “These are major parties with a lot of members and stakeholders who will sit down and discuss at round tables. Politics, for me, is something you sit down at a roundtable, discuss and agree with each other.”

    The former governor faulted attempt by the President at stimulating the economy through construction and revitalisation of infrastructure, saying building infrastructure will not automatically boost the country’s economy.

    Obi said: “You can’t use infrastructure to drive economic growth. You invest in education and the SME (Small, Medium Enterprises) sector instead to deal with poverty. Taking people out of poverty is not magic.”

  • How I’ll celebrate my 60th birthday – Peter Obi

    How I’ll celebrate my 60th birthday – Peter Obi

    Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said he plans to celebrate his 60th birthday for one year by executing humanitarian projects across the country throughout the period.

    Obi said this while taking his 60th birthday celebration to Iyienu Mission Hospital in Ogidi, Anambra State, where he donated N2 million.

    The former governor reinstated his commitment to a better society, saying no society makes progress without a stable Health sector.

    “You see, my plan is to celebrate my birthday for a full year by visiting hospitals and schools in communities that need help. We cannot expect much development in our nation unless we aggressively invest in our education and health sectors, and combat poverty by supporting our youths into productive business ventures.

    “I have a couple of friends and donors who have keyed into my vision and are willing to join me to make it happen. I have also mapped out schools and hospitals that we will visit and donate to throughout the year. “We are at Iyienu Mission Hospital at Ogidi today. It’s not our first time here and it will not be our last. Life is all about giving back to the society what God has blessed you with,” Obi said.

    Handing the N2 million cheque to the Anglican Bishop on the Niger and Proprietor of the Hospital, Rev. Owen Nwokolo, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Rev. Tochukwu Okwuchukwu, the ex-governor urged them to continue to advance the cause of humanity through improved healthcare delivery to society.

  • Take action against those killing Nigerians- Peter Obi tells Buhari

    Take action against those killing Nigerians- Peter Obi tells Buhari

    Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has counseled President Muhammadu Buhari to take action against those notorious for killing Nigerians.

    Obi made this statement this on Thursday via his official Twitter handle where he complained about the issues in Nigeria, saying they ought not to be plaguing the country today.

    According to him, “For many years, corruption has remained the leitmotif of leadership failure in Nigeria.

    “Painfully, at a time Nigeria ought to have moved on with other countries, we are still fixated on power supply, functional healthcare delivery and other essential things that ought not to be bothering us today.

    “We are also saddled with a gross imbalance in national appointments as if others are mere spectators in Nigeria. Added to this is a lack of future for our children.

    “The President can do this convincingly by immediately seeking real balance in his appointments and by taking immediate actions against those that have become notorious for killing and maiming fellow Nigerians.

    “Nigeria belongs to all of us, we cannot build by destroying, especially on matters that can still be solved through dialogue. Let Nigerians be encouraged to talk among themselves now.”

     

  • Nigeria becoming failed state-Peter Obi

    Nigeria becoming failed state-Peter Obi

    Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has counseled Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, to unite in tackling the trials facing the country.

    Obi who ran for Vice President in the 2019 general elections itemized the challenges as insecurity, poverty, and unemployment.

    According to him, Nigeria is fast becoming a failed state, adding that the plunging spiral should not be allowed to continue.

    “All Nigerians, irrespective of party and other affiliations, should immediately join hands to tackle the spectre of insecurity, poverty, and unemployment that are now ruling and ruining our dear country. We are fast becoming a failed state.

    “We cannot allow the downward spiral to continue. The government should also urgently seek foreign help,” he said on Twitter.

    Obi made this statement amid the start of insecurity in the country.

     

     

  • Soludo’s attackers need to be arrested, prosecuted-Peter Obi

    Soludo’s attackers need to be arrested, prosecuted-Peter Obi

    The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for Vice President in the 2019 presidential election, Peter Obi, has said security agents need to arrest those who attacked Central Bank Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and murdered three police orderlies attached to him.

    The incident happened on Wednesday in Soludo’s home town, Isiofia, in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    This is coming a month after the former CBN Governor declared his intention to run in the Anambra State governorship election come November 2021.

    Reacting to the attack, Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State said “political violence should have no place in the democratic process in Anambra State.”

    He tweeted, “The reported attack on Prof Charles Soludo in which some security agents were killed stands condemned. Political violence should have no place in the democratic process in Anambra State. The Ballot and not the Bullet should determine the outcome of our elections.

    “Meantime, security needs to be stepped up, and the culprits fished out and prosecuted to serve as deterrents to copycats