The presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the 2023 elections in Nigeria, Peter Obi, has promised to quit the presidency after his first term in office if he fails to increase Nigeria’s power generations.
He made the vow when he addressed a packed audience at Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles, United States of America.
It was at the flag off of his US speaking tour.
The Labor Party presidential candidate, who had just flown in from Toronto, Canada, described countries that had doubled their power supply in a few years, including Egypt, which he recently went to understudy.
Obi lamented that even the president of South Africa, which produces 50,000 megawatts of electricity, had just declared a state of emergency in the sector for being too little, but Nigeria that produces a paltry 4000 megawatts for 200 million people has not.
He said in a report sent to The Eagle Online by US-based Nigerian lawyer, Emmanuel Ogebe: “I will increase power generation in four to five years.
“This is not a guarantee.
“I am saying if I don’t do it, I will leave the office.”
Obi bemoaned the fact that no one was held to account in Nigeria, pointing out that when politicians get into office, they renege on what they had promised, claiming they didn’t know what it entailed.
The former two-term Anambra State Governor said: “In Nigeria, people don’t do what is expected.
“People do what is inspected!”
He challenged the enthusiastic Nigerian-American that they must hold him accountable when he comes into power to deliver on what he promised.
Obi, whose speech was interrupted with applause and chants of: “Obi,” said no one was asking for perfection but that at minimum leaders should show direction and effort.
Narrating an interaction he had with a member of a rival party on the flight to Toronto the previous day, Obi asked him if he knew the pilot.
When the man said no, he further asked: “But you trust him that he is taking you to Toronto as he announced?”
However the problem with governance in Nigeria, he stated, was that after promising a flight to Toronto, the pilots of state will enter the cockpit and begin to make excuses that they didn’t know the airplane needed fuel and that the destination is now Lagos.
Concluding, the guest speaker declared: “Election of 2023 must not be based on religion, tribe, connection or entitlement, but character, competence, capacity and commitment.”
Responding to questions as to how he intends to increase power generation, Obi stated that he discovered that one of the companies responsible for Egypt’s power transformation is present in Nigeria so he decided to investigate why they haven’t replicated similar success.
He said his findings will remain confidential for now, but there was no magic involved in achieving it.
While appreciating the crowd for a massive turnout on a week day especially, Obi apologized for the late start due to his delayed flight from Canada.
He said: “At home, we’re used to delays and we factor it into our planning.
“I was surprised when Air Canada was delayed for two hours.
“In Nigeria, in fact we’re surprised when the flight leaves on time.”
The Good Governance Speech Series continued in Houston, Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday before proceeding to North Carolina.
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