Nigeria Must End Criminal Petrol Subsidy, Says Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, on Thursday said Nigeria must end petrol subsidy.

“Going forward, we must look for ways to move Nigeria beyond oil,” Mr Obi said in a series of tweets.

“We must end this criminality called ‘oil subsidy’.”

He said Nigeria is “vastly polarised and wrecked by divisions that run deep along religious, ethnic and regional lines.’

“There is a staggering level of corruption. Our universities have remained closed for over five months. While our healthcare system remains comatose, power generation and distribution are also at an all-time low.”

Mr Obi said he plans to create jobs and reduce insecurity and poverty if elected.

“After we win the 2023 elections, we intend to use the instruments of job creation and regenerative investments to drastically reduce the high incidence of insecurity and poverty, while moving the economy from the consumptive to the productive mode,” he said.

“Undoubtedly, the greatest challenge we face beyond bad leadership, is lack of elite consensus. But, let us not forget Dante Alighieri‘s admonition, that ‘The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.’

Related: If War Breaks Out in Nigeria, I won’t Run Away – Peter Obi

“History must serve as a tool in our decision making. The implosion of Nigeria has long been forecasted. Year 2023 could be a tipping point in the annals of our history. But that must not happen, even as the options before the electorate seem stark.”

Mr Obi said he has the structure to win the 2023 election and stressed that Nigeria’s democracy must survive.

“The new alliance that we seek is between Nigerian Youths, the Labour Party, which represent Nigerian workers, and Like Minds,” he said. “Collectively, it is an alliance of the OBIdients!”