Onwuasoanya Jones is the Director of Strategic Communications for Peter Obi Support Network. He speaks with FRIDAY OLOKOR on the criticism against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, his chances in the 2023 elections, among other issues.WATCH VIDEO
What differentiates Peter Obi from other presidential candidates?
First, you should agree with me that neither our group, the Peter Obi Support Network, nor the central campaign organisation of Mr. Peter Obi, can claim responsibility for marketing Mr. Peter Obi as different from other presidential candidates or even other Nigerian politicians; that consensus was reached by the majority of Nigerians through their observation of the person and personality of Mr. Peter Obi over the years
Peter Obi has never said that he is different, but Nigerians from across partisan backgrounds are unified in their acceptance of this reality. Answering your question, Obi is different because he is the only in the presidency race whom Nigerians believe stands out the tallest in mental preparedness, in temperament, in integrity, in past records of public service, in passion and patriotism for Nigeria and in having a good grasp of the issues that trouble Nigeria.WATCH VIDEO
Nigerians believe in his capacity and he is the only one that will win this election with more than 90% of votes cast in the upcoming election if you remove primordial sentiments and unnecessary partisanship.
What are those things Obi did in Anambra that he wants to replicate in the country?
Obi is about the only Nigerian executive governor who took office with a very simple and comprehensive blueprint for the transformation of his state. He didn’t hire professors and some consultants to create a manifesto for him. He had an idea of what he wanted to do, and he articulated it in a simple document or work plan; the Anambra Integrated Development Strategy—ANIDS.
This blueprint has something for every sector of the Anambra economy, and by the end of his politically tumultuous eight years as a governor, every sector was positively touched, and his signature was on every sector. He improved the security of lives and property by equipping the law enforcement agencies and empowering them to get rid of criminals.WATCH VIDEO
Most importantly, he reduced the cost of governance to the barest minimum, such that by the time he left office as governor, Anambra was about the only state in the federation that wasn’t owing workers, didn’t have any debt anywhere in the world, yet, had billions of Naira saved up for the new government. Obi’s performance as Anambra governor is his bestselling point in this election.