Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria needed selfless and exemplary leadership across all tiers and arms of government.
He, who also denied purported alliance or merger talks between him, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the National Leader of the New Nigeria People Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, however, visited a former Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu in Minna.
But in response to Obi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the claim in his new year's message that the political, economic and security situation in the country was worsening as misleading.
Dismissing claims of an imminent merger among opposition parties, Obi, instead, urged all Nigerians committed to change to unite in 2027 to challenge the current administration, which he accused of poor governance and resource mismanagement.
He emphasised the need for collaboration among those who cared about the nation's future to bring about meaningful change.
In the 2023 election, Obi came third, following the APC and PDP candidates. Despite this, there have been speculations about a potential alliance between Obi and other opposition leaders for the 2027 elections.
But Obi has reiterated that no such deal has been reached at this time even as he drew attention to alleged persecution of potential political allies with his narration of experience with friends at airports."
Addressing a press conference, Obi said, "From all indications, Nigeria urgently needs selfless and exemplary leadership across the three arms and tiers of government.
"However, this much-needed exemplary leadership must begin at the very top. Since the ultimate responsibility lies with Mr. President, I will direct my attention to him. Mr. President, present-day Nigeria aligns closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s powerful words: "We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now.
"The political, economic and security situation of our country is worsening daily, despite contrary positions and claims by the government of improvement in different spheres of human endeavour. Our national challenges are visibly worsening. Our nation and its fortunes are in clear reverse.
"The indices are clearly indicative of our decline. Thus, our national indices tell a disconcerting story Nigeria remains one of the poverty capitals of the world, with over 100 million people living in extreme poverty and more than 150 million in multidimensional poverty. The situation has deteriorated significantly over the past 18 months under the current administration.
"As a nation, we have fallen from being the largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $574 billion and a per capita income of over $3,500 in 2014, to now ranking fourth on the continent. Our current GDP is less than 50% of what it was a decade ago, standing at approximately $200 billion, with a per capita income of barely $1,000.
"Nigeria remains one of the most insecure and least peaceful nations in the world, with countless communities and families displaced from their homes and now living in IDP camps."
Meanwhile, Obi was in Minna, the Niger State capital on new year's day, during which he paid a courtesy visit on a former governor of the state, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu at his residence.
Obi, who was accompanied by only his personal aides, held a close door meeting with Aliyu, lasting about 40 minutes.
An insider told THISDAY that the meeting was in continuation of Obi's consultation with major political stakeholders in the country ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
State Chairman of the PDP, Barrister Tanko Beji, denied knowledge of the meeting, while one of Aliyu's aides, Alhaji Hamisu Jankaro, said the meeting had nothing to do with politics.
APC: Obi's New Year Message Misleading
The APC has described Peter Obi's new year's message as misleading.
National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement, said his message appeared intended to score cheap political points.
He said in reality, 18 months later, the economy under President Bola Tinubu's administration, has shown steady record of progress -- massive balance of trade surpluses; trillions in stock market wealth creation; a surge in foreign direct investments as a result of increased confidence in the economy.
"Obi's new year message, in which he claimed that the political, economic and security situation of our dear country is worsening daily, is misleading and appears intended to score cheap political points.
"This claim, at a time when all indicators show that our country is rebounding in significant measure across all sectors, casts Obi, squarely, as Nigeria's leading doomsayer.
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"Despite these and other initial beneficial outcomes of ongoing unprecedented reforms, the administration is doubling its effort to ensuring that the reforms deliver their fullest benefits for the sustainable growth and transformation of our country," Morka stated.
He added that with the vigour in the administration's war on corruption, evidenced by ongoing investigations and trial of well-heeled Nigerians, Obi's pontification on the urgent need to tame corruption was a clear case of carrying coal to Newcastle.
"It is a thing of irony that Peter Obi, who now arrogates to himself to be omniscient and philosopher's stone, when it comes to our nation's challenges, left no record of significant achievement, let alone transformation of any kind, in his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra State.
"Like his co-travellers in the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Obi's obsessive pessimism and endless but futile effort to incite public outrage against the administration is borne out of their realisation that President Tinubu is unwittingly cementing their ultimate political irrelevance by his visionary and full-throttle reform and transformation of the fundamental pillars of our national life."
