•As Obi decries rising cost of living, insecurity; seeks unity beyond party lines
Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
As political permutations continue, the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party(LP) in 2023, Peter Obi have said that they are working together politically to “develop” the country.
Briefing journalists after a closed meeting, which was held at the presidential lodge (Ramat House) Bauchi, Peter Obi said he brought stakeholders from the South East region to seek for collaboration.
He said the partnership is aimed at reversing what he described as Nigeria’s current downward trajectory and securing a better future for coming generations.
According to him, the purpose of his visit was to solicit the support and cooperation of Bala Mohammed, the stakeholders of Bauchi and the North East “in our quest to unite this country.”
He said they are working to have a united country to build the future for the children. Obi said that the country cannot continue the way it is today. “We are headed in the wrong direction, and we need to reverse that for everybody.
“That’s why we are asking for purpose to seek the support of the stakeholders of Bauchi in building a new Nigeria. That will be for the benefit of all, building that Nigeria that we used to be, where a child of nobody can be somebody without knowing anybody.
He called for national unity to tackle Nigeria’s worsening cost of living and insecurity, stressing that the crises do not discriminate along party lines.
Obi spoke during a visit to Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed at the Government House in Bauchi, where he urged collaboration for a more secure and prosperous Nigeria.
“Nobody goes to the market and says he or she is from this party or that party. Nobody buys bread cheaper because of religion or tribe,” Obi said.
“When kidnappers stop people on the road, they don’t ask for your political party. All they want is ransom. When farmers are chased from their farms, no party is safe.” He added.
Obi argued that agriculture holds greater potential than oil for national revenue, adding that the North’s greatest asset is uncultivated land.
“We can make more money from agriculture than we make from oil. The North can drive this country. We want to invest in the North and ensure farmers return to their farms safely. The invitation is to build a better Nigeria where Nigerians are secured.” He said.
While reacting, Bala Mohammed said that Obi had came “with a torchlight for us, a torchlight that really we want to hold because he’s talking about unifying the country and building the country. We are building bridges and creating a new tomorrow for this country.
“And you know this is what we stand for as a state and as a people. We feel highly honored by this visit by eminent persons from the South. It’s not one state to really single us out for this visit. It’s something that we take with a lot of respect and it is so important to us.”
Mohammed added that what the team visited for was not to ask them for anything other than partnership, cooperation, synergy, to rekindle and build the country, to recreate the balance of power that “our forefathers” have recreated or created before, which has been abandoned.
He said that Obi has been visiting health institutions, education facilities and others. “But this time he’s coming with a lot of olive leaf that he wants to extend to us. And we have given him all the assurances and our respect and our team and the leaders he has brought because all of them are known.
‘So I think I will not say much. It is just about the building synergy and cooperation for the unity, progress and development of this country.”
The meeting comes amid growing speculations of mergers and strategic alliances among opposition leaders ahead of the next general elections, signaling potential shifts in Nigeria’s political landscape.
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