Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has urged Nigerians to shun ethnic, tribal and religious sentiments in the search for competent leadership.
He advised that Nigerians should instead focus on competence and credibility when electing leaders into public offices.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain noted that the country has continued to suffer under the burden of poor leadership.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, Obi said it would be deceitful to tell Nigerians that the country was getting better.
He said the underlying severe economic conditions in the country aggravated the negative economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the nation, leaving the country in a severe economic recession.
The former governor regretted that the outgoing year 2020 has been very challenging for Nigeria, with the nation taking the centre stage and being on the global news for the wrong reasons.
Obi said: “A recent World Bank report shows that unless some urgent measures are taken, Nigeria’s economy will shrink further, pushing over 11 million people into poverty.
“If the 11 million people join the already existing 98 million Nigerians living in poverty, then well over 50 per cent of the country would have been in poverty, a very catastrophic situation for the nation. What is more worrisome is that the majority of these people living in poverty are youths in their productive ages.”
