Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate Peter Obi says his concern about next year’s general election is how votes will be protected and not simply about winning.
“I am not worried about what the outcome of the 2027 general election will be. What worries me is the people and how they will protect their votes on election day,’’ Obi stated.
The former governor of Anambra State, therefore, called on relevant stakeholders, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ensure free, fair, transparent and credible polls.
“The votes of the people must be counted,’’ he admonished while on a thank-you tour of Kogi East Senatorial District yesterday. The tour was organised for NDC’s candidate for Kogi East, Peter Ameh.
The NDC flag bearer advised INEC and the electorate to resist any attempt to manipulate the electoral process in favour of any political party, stressing that the wish of every voter must be respected.
Obi called on Nigerians to choose leaders based on competence, capacity, character, compassion and commitment to national development.
“They must do it based on competence, capacity, character, compassion and commitment to turning Nigeria around,” he said.
The former governor, who contested the 2023 presidential poll on Labour Party’s platform, reiterated that Nigeria requires leadership with a clear vision and the capacity to reverse what he described as the country’s backward trajectory.
He said: ‘’There is hunger and poverty in the land, and that is why I came to see what we can do to ameliorate the suffering of our
What is most important is that we want the campaign for the general election to be issue-based. We want all candidates to go round Nigeria and ask questions about the challenges confronting the people.
We want to change the dynamics where people go around and ask Nigerians about their problems. When I was coming to Kogi State today(yesterday), I stopped at Obolafo- Otukpa Junction and asked some of our elderly people what their challenges were. This is what I want other presidential candidates to also be doing
“I am moving around Nigeria to see how we can do the right thing. I want the next set of governance to focus on how our children will be in school, how our environment will be secured, and how our people can earn a decent living.
“My charge to the people here is that they must ensure that there is a free, fair and credible election. This time round, our votes must count. Nigerians must elect those who will lead them.”
Also, the NDC Kogi East Senatorial Candidate, Ameh, said the people of Kogi East have no reason to remain impoverished given their fertile land and abundant mineral resources.
He said: “Kogi East is really blessed. We should not have decayed infrastructure access to Enjema properly, despite over 200 trucks leaving the coal site daily.”
“It is painful that we find ourselves in this deplorable state, but we can do something about it. We can have representatives in the legislature who will be at the National Assembly to speak for the people and raise the challenges confronting our communities.”
Ameh lamented the state of primary healthcare across Kogi State, describing it as unacceptable.
“Our primary healthcare system here in Kogi is dead across the nine local government areas. It is time for us to look at the track records of the candidates contesting elections and assess who can genuinely represent the people at the National Assembly,” he said.
“For me, I have already buried my personal interest in ensuring that the interests of the people become our interest. The people must come first,” Ameh said.
