Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party, has urged his rivals in other parties to put their campaigns on hold and work with him to aid flood victims in different states of the federation.
Obi made the call while speaking to journalists after meeting with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom at his private residence in Abuja, to discuss logistics for his upcoming trip to flood-affected areas in Benue and other states.
According to the former governor of Anambra State, Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, among others, should suspend campaigns for now and join hand to help victims of ravaging floods across the country.
Obi said if thousands of dollars were spent just on nomination forms, he anticipated other presidential contenders to express empathy for the situation of flood victims.
Over 603 people have been killed by the flooding brought on by recent excessive rainfall, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The situation has affected nearly 2.5 million people in Nigeria recently.
Among the worst his states include Lagos, Yobe, Borno, Taraba, Adamawa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, Benue, Ebonyi, Anambra, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Imo, Abia States, and the Federal Capital Territory.
Obi also responded to claims made by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State that he arrested him in Anambra while in office. He said that he lacked such authority.
El-Rufai was advised by Obi to move past the situation, the former governor claimed that he was also restricted to his local government during the aforementioned election.
Obi reiterated that if elected president of Nigeria in the upcoming election, he would address the nation’s problems.
Speaking, Ortom urged Nigerians to enter the general elections in 2023 with the intention of choosing the best presidential candidate out of all the contenders.
In order to restore optimism, prosperity, and progress, Ortom claims that Nigeria needs a hands-on, detribalised leader.