Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, said on Monday he would join the 2023 presidential race if the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) decided to zone the ticket to the South.
Obi, who was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election, stated this in a statement issued by his media aide, Val Obienyem.
He promised to turn around Nigeria’s fortune if elected the country’s President next year.
Obi said: “All the elections that I followed in the past, the party that I belong to today, the PDP made a pronunciation and took a stand. At least in 2019 when I was involved, where I can say Atiku graciously chose me as his running mate which I remain eternally grateful to him for, the party decided that the candidate should come from the North and that was what the party decided.
“And I believe that the party owes it a duty to say what their stand is. If their stand today is South, be rest assured I am aspiring, if they say North, I can’t do otherwise or they chose the option that everybody is free, then, of course, you will be hearing from me.
“What we are looking for in this country today are people of integrity, people of conscience, people who are less greedy. Educational qualification is not a measure of integrity; it doesn’t guarantee that somebody is less greedy or that people have a conscience.
“I have seen people here acquire what they don’t need. I saw it while I was serving, to fight corruption here, you need somebody who has integrity, who is not greedy, who has a conscience. If you have that, fighting corruption is easy, because, if the person in charge is not stealing, you will reduce stealing by 50 to 70 percent. And, it is critical that you have somebody who is like that.
“It is not when people are acquiring lands, houses, everything they don’t need; they want to live a lifestyle that is far beyond the economy of Nigeria, far beyond their earnings, that is why the place is collapsing. That is why we have insecurity, that is why we have poverty. We need to manage the costs efficiently and these are the critical areas as you people know as you look for people who will govern the country in the future.”
