The North will celebrate me if I become president

The Labour Party presidential flag-bearer in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has declared that the North can trust him to bring development to the region if he becomes president in 2027.

The former Anambra State Governor went further to say that the North would even celebrate him as President because he would utilise the region’s vast natural resources judiciously.

Obi, a prominent figure in the newly formed opposition coalition, which recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC), disclosed this while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme on July 6, 2025.

He noted that the 19 states in the North possess the greatest asset Nigeria has, lamenting that the vast arable lands in the region remain largely untapped due to the hydra-headed monster of insecurity.

We have voted for incompetence, we’ve voted for tribe, (and) we’ve voted for religion; let’s vote for competence,” he said.

Asked whether Northerners could trust him with power as a president, the Labour Party chieftain said he has ideas to solve the problem bedevilling the region.

“I want them to trust me. The biggest asset of this country is in the north, the uncultivated lands in the north. The criminality we face in the north today, I will deal with it.

“If I am president, the North will celebrate me. I have an idea of the problem,” he stated.

The 2027 presidential aspirant stated that he would be a caring and compassionate leader if elected to office, accusing President Bola Tinubu of being unfeeling towards the plight of Nigerians.

He condemned the President for choosing to go on Christmas holiday in Lagos in December 2024 instead of visiting Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where several children died in a stampede at a Christmas party.

”There is no compassion; people lost their children who will lead this country in the future, and he went on a Christmas holiday,” Obi said.

He also slammed Tinubu over the recent mass killings in Benue State, noting that even though he went to the state, he failed to reach Yelwata, where suspected herders killed scores and displaced thousands of people.

Peter Obi