Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 presidential election, has said that he is not interested in any political coalition for the purpose of grabbing power in the 2027 general election.
The former Anambra State Governor stated that coalition in Nigerian politics is for power grabbing.
He spoke in Abuja on Monday, Jan. 27, at a National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria under the theme: Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathways to Good Governance and Political Integrity.
Obi said: “We have seen that whatever happens 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 work 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 breeding poverty every day. People are suffering. So many people don’t know where the next meal will come from.”
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 encouraging stealing of public money. If I steal it and use it to win an election, then I get all the power and everything, including immunity not to be prosecuted. So we must stop it. That is what is driving the stealing.”
On the biggest takeaway from the Ghanaian experience, where the former Vice President and candidate conceded defeat, Obi said: “It is about the will of the people. People must be in charge. It is about serving the people, and that is most critical.”
