The Labour Party (LP) candidate on February 25th presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has slammed his counterpart in All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the allegation that he was too stingy to have saved money when he was governor of Anambra State instead of developing the state.
New Telegraph reports that Obi, who was in Akure, the Ondo State capital, for the continuation of his campaign rally, admitted being stingy but not corrupt as other major presidential candidates in the country.
Tinubu had during his campaign rally in Akure, last week Saturday, slammed Obi for saving money when he was the governor of Anambra State, instead of using the fund for the development of the state.
Tinubu had said: “Obi had a chance to show up a progressive when he was a governor of Anambra State. All he could do was to boast that he saved money when he was the Governor of Anambra State. Obi has nothing to be proud of.
Instead, he made people of Anambra cry and he claimed to be party labour leader. It is only a wicked father that will save money when his children is starving.
The people of Anambra are starving, and you claim you are saving money. That is wickedness.”
Obi who was making reference to the allegation that he was stingy, said it was through his stinginess that he was able to save $75 million for Anambra State government without owing any bank, contractor, or financial institution despite the sorry state he met when he came as governor.
He also threw jab at the APC presidential candidate as somebody without antecedent or background that he could be proud of. He said he and his running mate, Senator Ahmed Datti are people with traceable background, unlike others, whose real names, schools they attended, and parenthood cannot be traced.
His words: “We will support small businesses if elected as president. Nigerians will be proud of their country. We will secure this country. The whole South of Ondo State has not seen electricity for several years. How can there be development?
“We want to fight corruption. I am stingy but I am not corrupt and that is why I was able to save for the people of Anambra. We want people who can save for the country. Don’t vote for tribe. If they say it is their turn, tell them it is your turn to take back the country. Don’t mind those who said it is their turn. We are ready to save the country. This election is about character. You know our background, the schools we went to. We don’t know their age.”
“We want our children in schools to graduate at record time. A four-year course should be four years. We don’t want our youth to run away again. I will fight corruption. Go to Anambra State. I left money there. I didn’t steal their money. We must remove these people that brought us into this sorry state. We will recruit police and military and insure them, so that they can lay their lives for the country.
“The entire Nigeria is not secured. People are living in suffering and hunger. We want to secure and unite Nigeria. We want to move Nigeria from consumption to production. No more school’s strike. We will support small businesses. No Nigerians will leave his or her community because of insecurity. We guarantee you that insecurity will stop. We want to fight corruption. We will make sure that we have electricity.”
