By Bimbola Oyesola and Paul Osuyi, Asaba

Few days after his resignation from the People Democratic Party (PDP), former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday, emerged presidential candidate of the Labour Party.

Obi, the PDP vice presidential candidate in the 2019 election, polled 96 delegates votes out of the 98 votes cast to win the primary in Asaba, Delta State.

Returning officer and chairman of the seven-member election committee, Usman Aliu Abdulahi, said 104 delegates were accredited for the exercise and that Prof. Pat Utomi who had stepped down for Mr. Obi polled one vote while one invalid vote was recorded.

“Having satisfied all the requirements and having scored the highest number of votes, I hereby declare Mr. Peter Obi as the presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party,” he said.

Obi thanked the leadership of the party and delegates for electing him, adding, however, that the task to rebuild Nigeria was the responsibility of all.

He charged party faithful to comb all nooks and crannies of the country to bring out the votes during the presidential election. He blamed Nigeria’s problem on failure of leadership.

“I have got a simple mission, Nigeria is not a productive country. I just want to remove it from consumption, from sharing to production. If you listen carefully, you hear people talk about 100 million living in poverty. Why do we have insecurity as a problem? The number one to fight insecurity is to pull people out of poverty. When you have over 20 million out of school, then we have a problem, we will invest in education.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has assured Nigerians that the victory of Labour Party in Australia last week would be replicated in Nigeria in 2023.

It warned politicians running to the party for endorsements that the party would not compromise or  lower its standard to accommodate them.

The NLC stated this against the backdrop of the party’s National Convention.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba commended the leadership led by Julius Abure, former trade union leader, for working with the leadership of the union to reposition the political party.

“Millions of Nigerian workers and pensioners are latching on the new vigour and vision of Labour Party to take ownership of the long-suspended delivery of the Nigeria of our collective dreams. Such dreams are epitomised by the success of the Labour Party in different parts of the world. A few days ago, the Labour Party in Australia was overwhelmingly voted into power as Australians yearned for major reforms that would deliver a country that works for all.” 

Wabba enjoined Nigerian youths to continue to identify with the Labour Party and adopt the party fully as their own, noting that the job of unseating and retiring deadwood politicians whose worldview of politics is self-service and nepotism has begun in full earnest.