Millions of oppressed, dehumanised Nigerians are LP’s structure, says Obi

The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential flag bearer, Peter Obi, has mocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party ((PDP), describing their political structure as ‘stomach infrastructure’, which has brought more hardship to millions of Nigerians in the last two decades.

He spoke during an address at the Labour Party Coalition for Peter Obi (CPO) Summit, held at International Conference Centre, Abuja, yesterday.

He said: “The current structures of both the PDP and the APC are the stomach infrastructure that have brought us nothing but misery. Their understanding of structure is sharing of Nigeria’s patrimony to vested interests and influence peddlers. That is against what Peter Obi represents; that is against what Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed represents; and it is indeed, against the vision of the Labour Party.”

He urged supporters to remind the opposition that Nigeria’s democracy must survive because of the nation’s structure. That is: the critical mass dehumanised and disenfranchised by ruling oligarchs. He said the structure is the 100 million poor Nigerians, who will come out on election day to fight for their future.

He explained: “It is the 33 per cent unemployed Nigerians, who already know who kept them unemployed. Our structure is, indeed, the parents of 18.5 million out-of-school-children in Nigeria, who will strive to ensure that such affliction does not visit them a second time. Our structure is everyone seated in this hall today. Yes, we have structure. And we are ready to move mountains to save Nigeria.”

Obi noted: “Since I entered the presidential race, my mantra has been consistent and in tandem with the Labour Party’s vision, which mainly seeks to ensure economic transformation through job-led growth. Therefore, my decision to join the Labour Party was not by coincidence or happenstance; it was indeed a thought-through decision, given the ideological convergence.”

The presidential candidate added: “Great nations are built through political alliances. Our founding fathers understood and forged alliances in the national interest. But things changed. Our leaders became selfish, myopic and corrupt. And our people suffered. That narrative and mindset must change.

“The new alliance we seek is between Nigerian youths, the Labour Party, which represent Nigerian workers, and like minds. Collectively, it is an alliance of the OBIdients!”

“Nigeria is at crossroads, and it would be foolhardy for anyone to sugarcoat our current morass. Ravaging insecurity, largely inflicted by non-state actors, is fast threatening the sovereignty of Nigeria.

“Nigeria is, today, vastly polarised and wracked by deep divisions along religious, ethnic and regional lines. There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for over five months. While our healthcare system remains comatose, power generation and distribution are also at all-time low.

“I have consistently maintained that while there is a need for sustenance of the hard approach to fighting insecurity, there is urgent need to tackle poverty and those social and economic malaise that exacerbate the crises.”