The presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi respectively attended the annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association which held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, Monday.
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), however failed to attend as he was represented by his running mate, Kashim Shettima.
Speaking at the 2022 NBA AGM which is themed, “BOLD Transitions”, Atiku said Nigeria needs a bold man with experience that would make the country’s economy, arts and culture, sports, security, education others work effectively.
According to the former vice president, Nigeria has been experiencing all the negative indices since its creation, noting that it is time for the country to experience good developments by electing a credible individual come 2023.
His words: “Since the return of democracy in 1998/99, Nigeria has never found itself in such a very critical point in our history.
“Today, we have had all the negative indices. Today, we are all disunited in the nation. We have never experienced this level of poverty.
“We have never experienced this state of insecurity. We have never experienced this level of unemployment. We have recognised all these negative development in our history.
“This is where history and experience beckon on us to make sure that we don’t get it wrong at this point in time otherwise if we get it wrong. I don’t know when we will ever get it right.
“I have been involved in the struggle to return this country to democracy to this country in the time of military days. In fact, I can even say I was even lucky to be alive because so many of my contemporaries have been killed in this struggle but by the grace of God I have survived till this point in time.”
Obi in his address said that the elections in 2023 will not be about connections, tribe, tribe or religion, but about competence, character and commitment to deliver.
Obi stated this at the 2022 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association currently holding at the Eko Hotels.
In his words, “Remember, the election we are going to have next year will not be about tribe, not religion, not connection, not entitlement, but about character, competence, capacity, and commitment to deliver.”
Speaking further, Obi also said if elected he will aggressively tackle certain areas that will improve the economy of the country.
The former governor of Anambra State, highlighted the areas to be intangible assets such as education and power are critical for economic renaissance.
“What we need to do is the two most intangible assets: security; and law and order . . . provide conducive environment to attract investors, then education and power . . . the economy is driven by these intangible assets.”
