By Vincent Ujumadu, Awka

AS Nigeria marks her 62nd Independence anniversary, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi says many Nigerians have become tired and frustrated with the leadership failure that has continued to burden the country. He noted that the 2023 general election presents a ray of hope to the people for a new Nigeria, if things were done correctly.

In his Independence Day message to the people, Obi regretted that at 62, Nigeria has little or nothing to celebrate.  Rather, he added, the country has continued to struggle under the weight of corruption, bad governance, insecurity, worsening economy, abuse of office and all manner of ills.

He lamented that instead of heralding progress and development, the people were weakened by poverty and hardship and further burdened by new forms of societal malady.

He said: “After 62 years of independence, we are still experiencing constant collapse of our national grid, as many as seven times in a single year; our universities have been shut for eight months; our inflation rate is at an all time high, as more than half of the population is battling extreme poverty; insecurity and violence are occurring at an alarming rate; oil theft is carried on with impunity and in all fronts the nation bleeds.

“Any further slip into retrogression will make the nation uninhabitable for the people and that is why many Nigerians are looking forward to the 2023 election because it presents them an opportunity to put an end to the leadership failures of the past and usher in a new and productive Nigeria.

“The time has come for Nigerians to rescue their country from the clutches of failure, rascality and corruption that have held it down for long.

“That is the true independence Nigeria needs. We need independence from economic brigandage, tribal and religious disunity, poverty and unproductivity, poor quality education etc.

“The coming election in 2023 should be strictly based on competence, character and integrity for us to make progress in the country”.

Obi stated his readiness to move the nation forward, if elected, stressing, “I stand by my resolve to move the nation forward, from consumption to production, from sharing formula to production formula.

“With this, we can build the New Nigeria of our dreams. Let us take back our nation and build a better society for ourselves and our children.”

In his own anniversary message, the former national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Labour Party Senatorial Candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District, in the 2023 general  election, Senator Victor Umeh called on Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, ethnic and religious affiliation to vote Peter Obi, to end insecurity and untold economic hardship in the country.

According Umeh, “at this time in the history of our great country, there is a general consensus that the nation is not in a good shape.

“After sixty two years of Independence, we ought to have been able to organize ourselves for the betterment of the country, but we are in confusion.

“The 2023 general election is the right time Nigerians have the chance to choose leaders by themselves. They should vote for a good president in 2023 and I am free to say that Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate, Mr. Yusuf Datti Ahmed remain the best pair to address all the untold challenges facing Nigerians at the moment.

“The Obi/Datti ticket would provide Nigerians a visionary leadership platform that would correct the ill of bad leadership we have had in the past 62 years.

Some leaders have tried and some failed. We did not need to gamble in 2023 election. We need to put the right people on seat of power. Let us put Peter Obi on the seat as the next president and all Labour Party candidates that will support him.”