Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says the government is complicit in Nigeria’s worsening economic, social and security challenges.
Obi spoke on Wednesday during a visit to the palace of James Ayatse, Tor Tiv, before his participation in the NDC town hall meeting in Makurdi, Benue state capital.
The NDC chieftain said the country was in a dire situation, characterised by widespread hunger, poverty, terrorism, kidnappings and growing public debt.
The politician told the traditional ruler that his engagements aimed to promote peaceful campaigns and encourage Nigerians to participate massively in the 2027 general election.
He lamented that more than 60 percent of Nigerians were living in poverty, while the number of out-of-school children is on the increase.
“Nigeria today is in a very, very difficult, dire situation where Nigerians go to bed hungry. Over 60 percent of our population now live in poverty,” the NDC presidential candidate said.
“Today we are 200 trillion in debt. It cannot continue. Our out-of-school children are increasing. We have become one of the most terrorised and insecure places; we are now number four in the entire world.
“People are dying in Benue today, a state that can feed Nigeria, a state that used to be peaceful. The government is complicit in all that is happening. There is kidnapping.”
The former Anambra governor questioned the alleged inability of security agencies to track and rescue abducted schoolchildren, particularly as kidnappers reportedly use mobile phones to negotiate ransom payments from their hideouts.
