As Nigerians gear up for another presidential election in 2027, Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election has urged the North to vote for competence this time around.
The former Anambra State governor spoke on Sunday at the National Consultative Group (North) crucial meeting in Abuja, where he also asserted that the North has the capacity to change Nigeria.
Obi, who said the citizens voted religion in 2023, urged that the next round of election should be based on capacity and competence.
He said: "I have maintained that the insecurity in Nigeria, especially in the North, rest on poverty. I have been in the financial industry for years, when you look for cash you go to Kano. Go to Kano today those industries are not there. Go to Kaduna, there's no textile industries again in Kaduna.
"We used to book Kaduna trade fair for two years in advance for you to get a space. Today nobody goes there. We used to got to Maiduguri for cash, today nobody goes there. That's the poverty. And when you have poverty, you will have criminality that you can't control. It all rest squarely on governance to solve.
"I have always said that the north can change Nigeria - the greatest asset of this country is in the north. The solution is in the north.
"Why do we need to do a budget where we have to do a road for N15trilion. If we put N1.5trillion on insecurity in the North today, we start dealing with it. We can capitalize agric bank with N1 trillion, and put another N1 trillion in poverty alleviation.
"One of the governors told me he wanted to do small poverty alleviation and he went to Bank of the Industry and get over N2 billion but over two years they can't even put their own counterpart funding. We can solve it. The more you pull people out of poverty, the more you solve insecurity.
"We have a great country that can be changed if our leaders can change and invest in humanity. It is very easy, it's not a difficult thing. And all I am pleading with all of us is for us to build trust. I know we have issues here and there and everything. This is time for us to build trust among ourselves. Believe that we are one and remove our division.
"We have all tried, we voted for religion, let's vote competence. Let's vote for capacity. let's make this to work. It can work. Let's hold our leaders responsible."
NATIONAL POST reports that other prominent Nigerians at the meeting included Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Datti Baba-Ahmed, among others.
It is part of the strategy meeting by the opposition politicians to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.