The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has asked Nigerians not to hand over a “sick” country like Nigeria to a “sick person”.
Obi said this when he visited his alma mater, the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, Enugu State on Thursday.
Obi described Nigeria as a sick country, saying a sick person should not be elected as its president in the February presidential election.
He said Nigerians should not vote for any presidential candidate who cannot stand for 30 minutes.
The LP presidential candidate said Nigerians should look out for character and trust in the 2023 general election to avoid plunging the country into “further mess”.
“This country is sick and should not be handed over to a sick person.
“I am not saying that anyone is sick. We have been here for over two hours, we don’t want people who can’t stand for 30 minutes. In the United States during elections, they go for debates; somebody once asked Barack Obama questions that are personal and he answered.
“But here in Nigeria, somebody wants to contest an election, we don’t know his real age, we don’t know his name, we don’t know the schools he attended. Nobody knows his real identity and he is pushing to lead everybody.
“My name is Peter Obi, I can say I went to Christ the King College (Onitsha) and went to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
“Both the VC today, and the DVC today, are my schoolmates. We came to university the same year and left the same year.
“The people I went to school with, I can see them here today; my seniors and my juniors. How come we now have people who do not have classmates? This is very important,” the former Anambra governor said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Bola Tinubu, are among the major candidates in the forthcoming election.
There have been concerns about the health conditions of Tinubu and Atiku lately.
Many claimed that Tinubu regularly seeks medical treatment abroad, and is not coherent with his speeches, and sometimes experiences shaky hands.
Mr Atiku, on the other hand, was reported to have been flown to London recently over health challenges with many suggesting that he was “critically ill.” The PDP has since denied the report.
Obi also stated said that people should check the records of those who promise to fight corruption to know how they fared in the past in that regard.
“If you say, you will fight corruption, let’s go to the road you have and see what is remaining there after you left,” Mr Obi said.
He reiterated that this year’s election must be based on competence because it requires physical and mental energy.
“It is not a retirement job,” he stated.
