The Convener of the New Nigeria Group (NNG), Sam Ohabunwa, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), during consultations with stakeholders in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday, promised to activate a New Nigeria Project that will promote justice, equity, enhance capacity building for production economy and wealth creation.
Ohabunwa, an aspirant from southeast Nigeria, expressed his commitment to end insecurity – roll back Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in northwest Nigeria, bandits in northwest, including kidnappers across the country, as well as transform the country, if voted as a President of Nigeria in 2023.
The industrialist and former chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), lamented the waves of insecurity bedeviling the country, noting that the negative consequences have taken toll on the livelihood of many Nigerians.
He said “the insecurity has turned many Nigerian women especially in the Northeast to widows, and nobody cares and nobody is looking after them”.
Ohabunwa noted an incident where a pregnant woman was killed and baby forced out of her womb by bandits, decrying such atrocities vented against Nigerians due to the inability of the government to secure the country.
He said his aspiration to contest for presidency in 2023 is to build a country which cared for all Nigerians.
He said that his vision is to make Nigeria become first among world nations where all the citizens live in harmony and are treated equally to achieve peace and prosperity.
“We plan to mobilise like minded citizens to install an enlightened, visionary and committed leadership in Nigeria that will motivate the country to optimise its human and material resources to attain global competitiveness.
“We need to work hard and work smart to raise our productivity and be in the position to increase our Gross National Productivity in an effort to improve prosperity and drive down poverty,” he said.
He stated that graduates of universities will be taught how to acquire knowledge of solving problems and creating wealth to discourage them from depending on white collar jobs.
“We believe that our country has chronically under-performed and much of this was caused by leadership that lacked integrity and focused to perform.
“The new Nigeria we seek must be birthed by crop of Nigerians who are principled; those with high moral and spiritual strength to stand up for what is right and righteous.
“We need to build a new nation where corruption is eschewed and all forms of criminality and malfeasance are punished,” Ohabunwa said.
He listed four challenges bedeviling the nation as poverty, corruption, injustice and insecurity.
According to him, how to eradicate poverty is to ensure liberating of education by incorporating entrepreneurial skills, introduction of quality and universal healthcare, enhancing citizens economic empowerment as well as creation of enabling environment for business to strive.
Others included deregulation and extensive private participation through liberal incentives and diversification of the economy away from oil export.
Besides, Ohabunwa pledged to create equal citizenship rights, ensure minimum quality of life for every Nigerians, remove any form of discrimination and marginalisation, and enthrone a transparent and accountable governance system.
“Our country is divided because of injustice to virtually every section of the country. We believe this country can be fully united and reintegrated by a leadership that allows justice, equity and fair play to reign.
“Every child that is born in this country should have equal chance to achieve his or her full potentials without discrimination as to his state of birth, ethnicity or religion,” he said.
He said his dream was to build a nation where injustice to one is truly injustice to all and where justice is freely available to every citizen, assuring that no one will suffer for a crime he did not commit and no one who commits a crime will ever evade punishment.
He said his visit to the state was part of his nationwide consultations with stakeholders across the 36 states of the federation in order to activate the New Nigerian Project.
He, therefore, called on all Nigerians to support the PDP in the 2023 presidential election.
Earlier, the Yobe State Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Umar El-Gash, lamented that that Nigerian were battling with several challenges including economy, security and poverty.
El-Gash noted that Ohabunwa’s efforts to visit the state despite challenges of insecurity to declare his intention showed that he was a man of courage and selfless commitment.
He said that the aspirant had also proven that he is a man that was prepared to lead the country due to his verse level of experience and urged the people to support him.