By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
Nigerians have been advised not to bother about the defection of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, who gave the advice, appealed to Nigerians to be worried more about the ongoing economic recession in the country.
Obi, who spoke on Arise Television, disclosed that he had, for a long time, refrained from commenting on Umahi’s defection.
He said that it would be unfair to Nigerians if their political leaders focused on such trivial issues as defection, when a greater percentage of the population were increasingly finding it difficult to put food on their tables.
His words: “As at today, Nigeria is the Poverty Capital of the World. We have the highest number of out-of-school children. Our unemployment rate is skyrocketing every day, food stuffs prices are soaring higher and people are dying of hunger. Would it be fair for us to turn blind eyes to all these challenges facing our people and occupy ourselves with who leaves a particular political party or who does not?”
He however advised Nigerian and their leaders to leave irrelevant political games and join forces to save country’s economy from collapsing completely.
He said that the 2023 elections should not be the discussion now, especially with the depressing economy in the country.
“How many people have been pulled out of poverty by Umahi’s defection? Will Nigeria exit recession because Umahi left PDP? What economic value does Umahi’s defection to APC has on the average Nigerian on the street who is struggling to put food on the table? We must not be distracted by political movements at this time.
“Anyone is free to belong to any political party. Our common focus should be saving our economy and making our governance fruitful and productive”, Obi said.