Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to account for nearly $100bn he allegedly borrowed in the past three years.
Obi said Nigerians deserved to know how the funds were spent, accusing the President of failing to address the country’s worsening economic and social conditions.
The former Anambra State governor spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Friday, during the homecoming ceremony of the NDC national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, and the commissioning of the party’s secretariat.
He called on Nigerians to reject the All Progressives Congress government, which he accused of lacking the competence and compassion required to govern the country.
Obi also questioned Tinubu’s capacity to continue leading Nigeria, alleging that the President was already tired of running the affairs of the country.
He said Nigeria needed a leader with the energy, commitment and capacity to address its challenges.
“Today, we have a country that produces the highest number of poor people in the world. Today, we have a country where our people are hungry. Nigerians don’t know where the next meal will come from anymore,” Obi said.
He lamented the state of healthcare, education and employment, saying many Nigerians had been forced to seek spiritual intervention because of the poor state of public hospitals.
“In Nigeria today, if you are sick, instead of going to hospital, you go to church because there is no hospital, so you can only pray for God to save you.
“We have a country where there are no schools. We have a country where youths are looking for jobs, but no jobs,” he added.
Obi said the NDC was positioning itself to offer Nigerians an alternative political platform capable of rebuilding the economy.
“What do we want to do? We are telling you that NDC is coming to build a new Nigeria that is possible. We want to move Nigeria from consumption to production,” he said.
On the country’s borrowing, the former governor demanded that Tinubu explain the purpose of the loans allegedly obtained under his administration.
“Our President has borrowed nearly $100bn. Nobody knows what he did with the money.
“We want the President to come and explain to Nigerians what he used the money he borrowed to do in the past three years,” Obi said.
He also faulted Tinubu’s frequent overseas engagements, alleging that the President had repeatedly cited his busy schedule as a reason for not participating in political activities.
“He said he’s busy. He has been busy for the past three years going overseas. Now we went into a campaign, he said he is busy,” he added.
Obi described the APC administration as incompetent, insisting that it lacked the capacity to address the country’s problems.
“APC government is incompetent. APC government doesn’t have the capacity. They don’t have compassion. They cannot be chosen,” he said.
