The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said that he is not interested in any coalition for the purpose of grabbing power for the 2027 general election.
He said coalition in Nigeria politics has been basically for power grabbing, the former Anambra State governor further stressed that he cannot imagine why politicians abandon the country to collapse in desperation for grabbing political power.
Speaking Monday in Abuja, on the sideline at a National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria under the theme; Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathways to Good Governance and Political Integrity.
Obi equally lamented that democracy has completely collapsed in the country, emphasising that the effects of it could be seen in Nigeria’s daily living and the future of Nigerian children.
While urging all Nigerians to get involved in strengthening democracy, Obi said: “We have seen that whatever happened in democracy affects the citizens. It affects their daily living and the future of their children. So, we must all now get involved to make it because we know that it’s not working in Nigeria.”
On the proposed coalition, the former Anambra governor, replied: “For me, what is important is about the country. We must talk about the future of Nigeria. We abandoned the country and all we talk about now is power grabbing.
“I am not interested in any coalition for the purpose of taking power. It is about discussing Nigeria, how we care about securing Nigeria, care about the common people in the country and their education. That is the most important thing in Nigeria for now.
“The conversation has been on for a long time. It is now time for us to take action because you can see where it brought us to. We now live in an insecure country. We now live in a country that is everyday breeding poverty. People are suffering. So many people don’t know where the next meal will come from,” he lamented.
He also frowned against the increasing cases of monetisation of politics, stressing: “That is what we need to remove, because what you are doing is that you are encouraging stealing of public money. Because if I steal it and use it to win election, then I get all the power and everything, including immunity not to be prosecuted. So we must stop it. That is what driving the stealing.
On the biggest takeaway from the Ghanaian experience where the former Vice President and and candidate conceded defeat, Obi said: “It is about the will of the people. People must be in charged. It is about serving the people, and that is most critical.”
