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Against the backdrop of efforts by aspirants for the2023 presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the 2019 vice presidential candidate of the party and one of the hopefuls, Peter Obi, has said that it would be the decision of the party to decide the zone to produce the flag bearer, taking into consideration, such critical factors as competence, equity and fairness.

Obi made the declaration in an interaction with newsmen in Minna, Niger State, in continuation of consultation processes to all parts of the country.

He argued that whatever the party decides on the zoning issue will be in the interest of all the members. According to him, since the party is supreme, its decision on the matter would be binding on all.

Obi bemoaned the rising tide of insecurity in that has led to pupils not going to school and farmers not being able to access their farms.

He remarked that given the advantage of land mass, Niger State has a lot of agricultural potential that could be harnessed for the benefit of the country. He regretted however that lip service is being paid to the sector.

Obi charged Nigerians to shift from consumption to productive economy. He said "we want a productive Nigeria. Today, Nigeria is not productive

Earlier while addressing the state delegates at party secretariat, the former Anambra governor, remarked that though he was yet to declare formally for the presidency, his visit was a mark of respect to the members.
He pleaded that every aspirant for the ticket be accorded level playing ground and equal opportunity to present his case.

Obi stated, is one family that requires collective action to build a better Nigeria.
He charged party members to remember that Nigeria is more important than every individual interest.

He asked Nigerians to do due diligence on the background and antecedents of those seeking their votes in 2023.

The PDP presidential aspirant charged Nigerians to do due diligence on the antecedents and pedigree of those coming to seek their votes in 2023.

The state chairman of the party, Tanko Beji, in his speech, extolled the virtues of Obi, arguing that as one from the private background, he is better placed to manage the resources of the country.

Beji made case for a good Nigerian president, not because he is a Muslim or Christian, northerner or Southerner.

Former governor of the state, Babangida Aliyu, remarked that Nigerians are waiting for PDP, adding however that the party must come as a united front to create impact and attain its dreams of winning in 2023.

The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, Friday, said that he is preoccupied with the thought of a better Nigeria, not how to win political elections in 2023.

Obi, said that he wants to see a Nigerian society where all the sectors of the economy are functioning effectively to liberate the people from the shackles of underdevelopment and poverty sending most Nigerians to their early graves.

He spoke as a special guest of honour during the 80th birthday celebration of the father of African Philosophy, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.

He said that Prof. Nwala’s scholarly prowess should be emulated and celebrated in order to position the country on the path of knowledge-based economy for rapid development.

He equally pledged to help the Department of Philosophy, UNN, where he graduated from establish a research centre on African Philosophy.

“Nigerians are always preoccupied by elections, I am not that type of politician. Politics for me is not about winning elections and being in office. For me, it is about building a better society. We are in a society where people don’t know where the next meal will come from but we are not discussing that. We are in a society today where poor businesses cannot get diesel to do their businesses, unfortunately, nobody is discussing that. We are in a society where our universities have been shut down for months, nobody is discussing that. These are the things I want to discuss, not 2023 elections.

“Elections can come when we have dealt with the issues that are bewildering us. I want to see our universities functional and our children back to classrooms. I want to see food on the tables of poor people in the villages. I want to see steady power supply so that our businesses can thrive,” he said.

While talking about Prof. Nwala, he also said “Prof. Nwala, remains one of those scholars that should be celebrated and emulated in Nigeria, unfortunately, we live in a country where people don’t celebrate knowledge, ideas, scholarship. This is the bane of the country because the world is driven by knowledge. We are in a knowledge economy and development. Nigeria does not appreciate knowledge, that is why we are not investing in education. That’s why we are not doing well.

“For me as a student who passed through the tutelage of Prof. Nwala, I remain his son and I celebrate him everyday,” he said.

In his address, the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Charles Igwe, while lauding the academic ingenuity of Prof. Nwala, who he said took African Philosophy to the global stage, he regretted the loss of academic contents which the generation of the octogenarian bequeathed to the academic world.

The Vice Chancellor who was represented by the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, also said that Prof. Nwala’s great idea helped to position Nigeria, and the world at large for greatness, adding that his presence in UNN has ignited the spirit of scholarship and ideology amongst the academia.

In his address, the Acting Head of Department of Philosophy, UNN, Dr. Chugozie Anyaehie, said Prof. Nwala, was the first to globally develop African Philosophy as a teaching course in the university and projected the Department into the global academic history as a young lecturer.

While saying that he was the first graduate of the Department and a one-man-class graduate of the Department in 1967, he said that the Department aspires to sustain and institutionalize his leadership positions on African Philosophy.

He added that Prof. Nwala stood for the integrity of both his colleagues and students in the Department. He also said that the aspiration of the Department to institutionalize his leadership positions on African Philosophy would be enhanced by dedication of a research centre on the discipline in UNN as a place where African Philosophy was birthed.

Prof. Nwala, an ideologist, international scholar and politician was the first Philosophy graduate to be produced by any Nigerian university in 1967. He equally founded the State Volunteer Service Corps, SVSC, to initiate programmes for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation of Nigeria after the civil war.

He became an Executive General Secretary of ASUU in 1980 and equally contributed immensely to the 1994-5 National Conference.

Hisbah21:
definetly and it include ur's too and ur grandparents and up to ur ancestors

Hisbah21:
those gender contributes very little to the society