Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State and a presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stated that the Nigerians now spend 100 per cent of their salary to feed themselves. He said that Nigeria is in a crises situation and that the Nigerian government needs to focus on creating wealth.
Mr Obi disclosed this on Wednesday at the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on his 2023 presidential ambition in Abuja, according to NAN.
He also revealed his displeasure with the rising rate of insecurity and poverty in Nigeria, citing that the Buhari administration has been too focused on wealth sharing through its various welfare schemes.
What Obi is saying
Obi warned that Nigerians now spend 100% of their salary to feed themselves, urging that Nigerians need to go back to an era of increased productivity first, before sharing wealth.
“People now spend 100 per cent of their salary to feed. It is a crises situation. What will somebody like me do?
“We need to move the country from consumption to production. There is nothing to share again.
“We now need wealth creators, not wealth sharers. We have been sharing wealth for a long time, we need to start creating wealth,” he said
He also urged that Nigeria needs to reduce the cost of governance, as it has become an economic burden on the government, adding that as someone who had contributed in creating employment in Nigeria’s private sector, he will focus on wealth creation.
“Go and look at the trajectory of where people are coming from and check all the places I have been given responsibility, including being a governor.
“You saw what I did in Anambra State, you saw what I saved and all that.
“On security, we have what we call natural security and artificial security. The natural security deals with job creation; you need to put food on people’s tàble to ensure that they are not doing the wrong things.
“If they don’t know where the next meal will come from, the tendency is that they will become a tool for anything. So we need to employ people.
“I know what to do in putting money into micro, small and medium scale enterprises. I have experimented it in a small way which people can see,” he said.